Adrift in the Beginning of a New World
by CoralMaiden
Summary: Taking place after the helicopter pickup at the end of the Left 4 Dead 2 game, the survivors have found themselves in a new kind of hell…. Who knew that rebuilding a broken world could cause so much pain and heartache… and who knows who will make it out of this alive and in one piece. NickxEllis, of course… slight EllisxZoey, and possible RochellexFrancis as well as LouisxZoey.
1. Existence

Welcome to the Sequel of 'Lost in the End of the World.' It was a pain to write but in the end totally worth it! I look forward to hearing back from you lovely readers on what you think of it so far and what some of your thoughts are on what's going to happen next! ^.^ Critiques and Comments are welcomed with lots of hugs and smiles and help the next chapter come into development sooner and faster! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

The sun rose leisurely over New Orleans, basking Ellis' room in warm sunlight. He lifted his head slowly, tear streaked face looking out at the world that seemed to have robbed everything from him. He pushed to his feet slowly, shuffling over to a window to stick his head out into the fresh morning air. His mind wandered to Rochelle, Coach, and Nick and he wondered if they were thinking about him at all-he was always thinking about them. He hoped they were all safe…

Ellis' gaze wandered from the rising sun to the bridge that had been a beacon of hope for him for so long- it was so crumbled and broken now. In a way it was fitting... his hopes had been dashed and so had his beacon of hope.

Now what was he supposed to do, though? Exist? He could never rejoin society… he'd never see his friends again- not his pre-apocalypse friends or post-apocalypse. It was too dangerous… He was too dangerous…

Ellis wondered if he would be with his friends at this very moment if it hadn't been for Tom. For a moment Ellis thought back to Tom with a heavy sense of hatred….but it didn't last long. The man had been trying to save the world. Surely Ellis couldn't hold that against him. Just like he couldn't hold Coach, Rochelle, and Nick's want to reach safety against them. The possibility that they may not even be headed to safety was repressed from Ellis' mind.

It was strange really being alone for once. The other infected didn't really bother with him anymore which worried Ellis more than it relieved him. The only time he got trouble was if he ran into a special infected who would attack on sight. It didn't quite make sense to Ellis but he always made sure to keep his gun with him, wherever he went, just like before. It was a fairly simple gun and reminded him of his hunting rifle- adding a strange kind of comfort to the twisted situation he was in.

Ellis had found a cute little house to call home for now though it would never really feel like a home. It was too empty for that… and as the days slipped past Ellis found himself craving the sound of another voice. It had only taken Ellis 3 days before he had begun to talk to himself just to fill the silence- he never could stand silence before.

Whereas before the apocalypse had been a video game now it seemed a dull and dreary existence. Before he had people to fight for and with, people to sing and laugh with and who he could talk to and never had he realized how for granted he had taken that until now. But then you never knew what you had until you lost it, right?

Slipping his gun over his shoulders, Ellis exited his safe house and locked the door behind him. At first he hadn't gone out often but after the first week of this existence Ellis decided he was going to make the most of it. Now he spent the morning at the gym, making sure to keep himself in shape. No reason to let the bad ass zombie killing muscles go flabby, after all.

Leaving the gym, he almost bumped into a common that was meandering the streets. It turned to look at him and for a moment Ellis felt the old fear clutch at his heart… but then it continued meandering along its way and Ellis wondered to himself what it saw. He had been avoiding mirrors, personally, since ending up alone. He had passed one on the third day and seeing the state he was in… well he just didn't look like himself anymore. After that Ellis had decided he wanted to remember himself as he was before- when he was with Nick and Rochelle and Coach and before that, before all of this- not whatever he was becoming now.

It wasn't like he hadn't noticed the changes at first. His fingers had elongated into lethal claws and it was indeed difficult for Ellis to remain in a straight backed, standing position but he refused to give in to the change. He hadn't realized he really would change completely after the others were gone but then he hadn't really known what was going to happen to him. He had been living in the moment- his entire life planned up until the point where his friends would reach safety. Now that he was alone… he really was just existing.

It had crossed Ellis' mind more than once to just end it all- everything. This lonely existence surely wasn't worth prolonging… Faith would reappear in his mind, though, staying his hand. Obviously he was still here for a reason- though what that reason was… he didn't really know. But whatever the reason was, that there was a reason was enough to make sure that Ellis kept existing. So Ellis' existence became base survival (eating, sleeping, battling special infected), remaining in top fighting condition, and exploring the city. The exploring was the best part of Ellis' day now. From time to time Ellis' random searching through houses would turn up something truly interesting and those were the days Ellis looked forward to. He would always return to his safe point, though, so that he would always have a sense of familiarity. Something like home.

The house he had set up in was almost on the outskirts of New Orleans. After he had pulled himself together the first night alone Ellis had fled the center of the city. He had, of course, chosen a living establishment that would still provide a view of that broken bridge that Ellis had a sentimental connection to, but he had wanted to be as far from where his friends had fought together the last time as he could be. It was a strange addiction that tore him in two directions- the want to relish in those moments over and over again and the want to leave and let lie because every moment relived was also a painful slash to the heart.

Memories still flashed back to Ellis from time to time- especially when his mind had time to wander which it definitely did lately. Not surprisingly, most of the time it wandered back to Nick… but Rochelle, Coach, and Abbey were present in quite a few of his thoughts as well. In addition every now and then Zoey, Louis, and Francis would also appear… and very rarely but every once in a while Ellis would think of Tom.

Fighting a tank alone the other day had reminded him of the day the others had thought he was dead. Well… everyone except for Nick. He remembered how hard it was to even consider living without the conman but here he was- surviving without Nick. And the conman was also continuing on without Ellis- even though he had been so broken up about even considering Ellis being dead.

What was the difference, Ellis wondered. At one point Nick had been ready to die because he had thought Ellis out of his reach. Yet he had left Ellis for safety… Not that Ellis wouldn't have made Nick leave but… it didn't seem to really bother the conman at all. Maybe he had gotten over his infatuation with Ellis. He had pressed the whole 'no strings attached' anyway… and it had been Ellis who had asked for there to be a real relationship.

Perhaps knowing that Ellis was still alive and that they might meet again one day was enough for Nick. Then again, maybe the conman's feelings weren't as real as Ellis thought. It wasn't like Nick hadn't been the kind of person to 'love 'em and leave 'em' before… so why did Ellis think he was so special? Ellis shook his head- the only thing he knew for certain was that he missed the conman terribly and hoped that he could see Nick again. The last few weeks had been lacking something without the gambler around.

Ellis passed infected left and right as he considered all of this, his gaze lingering on them though they didn't so much as turn in his direction. Their lack of attacking him reminded Ellis of the children in Whispering Oaks though there was still something different about the eyes. And whereas the children had never outright threatened Ellis, the common infected had been a threat for far too long for him to easily see them as anything but diseased beings. An enemy to be fought-though only when needed now.

The first day Ellis had been alone he had killed the infected, no questions asked even though they hadn't attacked him. When the infected continued to ignore him, Ellis stopped firing on them. It didn't sit right with him to kill when it wasn't…. 'needed.' It's just… well Ellis no longer saw them as threats and that made them more 'human.'

Considering that a cure may be found someday, it seemed wrong to attack them. Especially when images of his mother flashed across his mind.

For a while now, Ellis wondered if she was, in fact, still 'alive.' He wasn't really sure if he wanted her to be or not. Perhaps it would be nice for her to be ok if a cure came about but otherwise he hoped that she wasn't around living such a damned existence- much like the one he was living now.

In a rather sudden movement the infected began to raise their heads and look around. Ellis reached for his gun and it turned out to be a smart hunch as a charger came into the area. He had learned lately that the common infected are in ways really inferior to the special infected- easily pushed aside and attacked by the more powerful infected. The common always seemed to know when one of the special was around…

The charger spotted Ellis and gave an annoyed roar. It was an outright battle call- no warning that Ellis had trespassed or option for Ellis to just leave. Sometimes Ellis would receive that from Hunters and Witches but Chargers, of the special infected, seemed to be some of the most dimwitted. They looked for fights everywhere… and Ellis wondered if their personalities reflected that of the people they used to be.

As the charger began to head menacingly in Ellis' direction the hick got with the program. His gaze flashed around and took in the layout, quickly coming up with the best plan to defeat the charger. Leaping toward the nearest wall, Ellis scrambled up it. His claws gripped and allowed him to pull himself up the brick, his gun in one hand as he quickly worked his way out of the Charger's reach. As soon as he found a ledge that gave him enough room to crouch he climbed on before turning and firing down at the charger, feeling himself settle into a semi crouch that eased the tension off of his back. With his elongated fingers it was difficult at times to pull the trigger, slowing Ellis' attack at times dramatically. After learning the hard way that speed was everything in the kill, Ellis had surmised that finding areas the other infected couldn't reach and attacking from there was usually the best plan of action.

The charger growled up at him when the first shot hit it. It charged and slammed into the wall, leaving a small dent in the brick and almost knocking Ellis off of his ledge. Ellis hissed in return, aiming the gun and firing once more. The force behind the shot pushed the charger back.

It roared up at Ellis but he just bared his teeth in a snarl, aiming his gun and firing once more- this time taking the charger down. Several zombies came running at the sound of the bullets, looking around hopefully. Ellis just rolled his eyes before climbing the rest of the way up the side of the building.

"Gonna hafta get more ammo soon." Ellis said to himself, noticing his pockets were lighter than what he would have liked. His sense of hearing gave Ellis plenty of warning when a Jockey pounced at Ellis' shoulders and he ducked, causing the Jockey to go flying over his head.

"Goddamn Back-Humper." Ellis snarled. Though Jockey's weren't really a danger any more per se, they were just as annoying. Ellis had run into a few before this and honestly he figured the Jockey would be smarter than to mess with him but the Jockeys were only slightly smarter than Chargers. Ellis viewed them as mice and he the cat, honestly.

He paused a moment, nose twitching as a strangely familiar scent caught his nose. His mind was whirring with interest and it gave the Jockey enough time to latch onto him, tugging on his face in an attempt to get him to move. Annoyed at being interrupted, Ellis folded his arms and coped with the Jockey tugging incessantly to try and get him to move.

"Are ya finished, yet?" Ellis asked, wanting to start tracking the scent he had caught earlier. The Jockey c0ntinued to tug and jerk and Ellis rolled his eyes before reaching up, grabbing the Jockey's shoulder, and throwing the annoying creature off. It hit the ground and bounced back to its feet before swaying uneasily. Ellis snarled in warning but the Jockey didn't run off. It grinned at him and Ellis sighed, raising his gun so that it was pointed at the Jockey.

"I don' really feel like wastin' a bullet right now. Are ya gonna leave me alone er what?" Ellis warned, triggering a bullet to fall into place. The Jockey stared unwavering at the gun before disappearing over the side of the building.

"Kay, cool." Ellis said, nodding to himself. Well… at least until he heard the hiss of a hunter. "Dammit." Why couldn't he just hunt a smell in peace? Ellis put his gun away for this, slinging it across his shoulders.

"Well where are ya, then?" Ellis asked, looking around as he got into a battle crouch. The purr of the hunter came from one side of the building but then it echoed from the other. Shit. Two hunters. Ellis was about ready to bolt when the two figures leapt at him. The familiar hood of a hunter came propelling toward him from one side…. and from the other side once again came the Jockey.

"Why you sneaky lil." Ellis grumbled, choosing to leap at the hunter and meet it midair though that meant that the Jockey was clamping onto his back. Sharp claws raked across skin and caused splits that oozed blood. Ellis was glad to see that he, at least, still bled red.

The hunter snapped its jaws at Ellis and he replied by snapping back, trying to bite at the hunter's throat but it was able to hold Ellis off well enough. The two grappled for some time- Ellis becoming increasingly worried about losing the scent. He needed to end this fast… He began to swipe at the Hunter for all he was worth- ignoring the injuries he received in return. They would heal well enough in a short while.

There was finally an opening and with one foul swipe Ellis' claws plunged into the Hunter's chest, causing the creature to whimper in surprise as it tried to pry itself free from the lethal weapons. Ellis used his other hand to cut the head cleanly from the creature's neck. It stopped moving after that.

It took a moment for Ellis to remember why there was an added weight to his back, causing him to reach behind and try to snatch the Jockey once more. It evaded Ellis' hand, instead leaping off the hick and turning to run.

"So now ya wanna run? Sorry pal, too late." Ellis growled, giving chase. The Jockey ran this way and that, trying to evade the lethality that Ellis promised should he catch the Jockey. The pursuit became a game to Ellis as the Jockey tried to out climb him, out run him, and out maneuver him- failing in every attempt. Ellis allowed this to continue for a short while before beginning to grow bored. With one last leap, Ellis pinned the Jockey beneath him and, easily seeing the other infected as a mouse, tore at the back of the Jockey's neck with his teeth until the head was dislodged from the body.

Wiping his mouth, Ellis sighed. Now what had he been up to? There had been something of interest.. something important… Ellis closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to try and soothe his annoyance before he caught that scent again. The scent he couldn't place… but that he recognized. As if from a dream or memory.

Licking his finger and holding it up to the wind Ellis shouted: "Thatta way!" before scaling down the building he and the Jockey had ended up on at the end of everything. In a way Ellis realized he was kind of hunting whatever the scent was coming from but he didn't mind that he was behaving in ways similar to other infected. His mind was too trapped in finding out what the alluring scent was.

Ellis moved between rooftops, finding the higher altitude a better way of tracking the smell though he wondered why it would be in such a high place. Had his quarry been up high or had the scent just wafted upwards?

As he closed in on the scent Ellis began to be a little sneakier about where he placed himself. Gunshots rang through the air and though Ellis knew he was in control of his hunger lust, the people with guns most likely didn't… so Ellis kept to the shadows as he finally reached the source of the scent. Ellis peeked over the roof of the building to get an idea of what was going on.

The scene that Ellis came across had a barrage of emotions flitting across his mind and he shook it, trying to come to grips with what was going on. Three semi familiar faces were facing a rather large horde and were struggling to keep it at bay.

"Zoey?" Ellis mumbled to himself as he watched the girl in a pink jacket battle like a warrior. "I's cuz she is a warrior." Ellis muttered, rolling his eyes. Zoey was just as beautiful and badassed as he remembered her being.

Wanting to help but not wanting to get shot himself, Ellis lifted his gun over the peak of the roof and began shooting down zombies that weren't all that near the trio. Enjoying this game very much, Ellis began to shoot down as many as he could as fast as he could- seeing that his extra gun was making a bit of a difference.

"Now 'm really gonna need more ammo." Ellis grumbled as he plugged the last of his bullets into the magazine for his gun. He glanced over the roof to see that Francis, Louis, and Zoey had been split up by the mass of the horde. Unable to go to each other's aid, it was up to Ellis to save his shots until one of them was in jeopardy. Not only was Ellis able to keep a spitter from dousing Louis in slime, Ellis also shot a hunter right after it had pounced on Zoey and took down a smoker before it could drag Francis in.

Ellis was rather proud of his shooting at this point, smiling to himself when he noticed that the horde of zombies had thinned. He was out of ammo at this point but he enjoyed watching the three battle- wishing he could go down and join them but knowing that wasn't an option. He noticed them gathering at one point and figured they were discussing something.

When he noticed that Francis had moved to point in his direction he hid behind the roof, laying his gun across his lap and holding his breath. Had he been discovered? He wasn't sure but it made his heart race to consider… as much of an Angel as Zoey was, he doubted she'd have mercy on Ellis. He didn't need a mirror to know that he looked pretty horrific at the moment. The black that would smear across his hands when he wiped his tears away was enough of a hint- you know, if the claws hadn't been enough.

As Ellis held the gun close to himself and remained hidden behind the roof, a glimmer caught his eye and he looked down at the beautiful shine of gold that still encircled his finger. His mind flashed back to Nick once more and Ellis felt sadness creep over him…. It hadn't been very long at all and yet it had felt like forever since he had last seen Nick. The man's scent was still locked away in Ellis' mind and sometimes, when he was having an especially bad day, he'd recall some memory of the conman.

Feeling that Zoey, Francis, and Louis would find him if he stayed put Ellis began to creep away, keeping low to the roof before climbing down the building. He kept to the shadows before he chanced a glance in the direction Zoey and her company had been. They were no longer there…

It was mainly reflexes that kept Ellis from being spotted when the three survivors came down the alley Ellis had landed in. He quickly ducked behind a dumpster, holding his breath as the footsteps closed in.

"You think there might still be people around?" Louis asked softly.

"After everything we've seen I highly doubt it…" Zoey replied and Ellis pressed further back against the wall.

"Somebody was shooting from that roof." Francis said stubbornly, a familiar scowl gracing his features.

As the three passed Ellis' hiding spot he began to question himself. He hadn't had a motivation in quite a while but helping protect those three seemed like a pretty plausible plan. Just as long as they didn't catch him… which added an element of fun in it for Ellis. An extreme game of hide and seek where being found could get you killed.

"I thought I saw someone, too." Zoey acknowledged.

The three continued to debate while they exited the alley. For a moment they attempted to call out to the person who had helped them but after a few moments of not receiving any response they stopped. After a quick search of the area where they thought their helper to be the three decided to move on.

"Maybe something happened to them." Zoey suggested.

"I hate not knowing things." Francis grouched, causing Louis to chuckle.

"That actually surprises me a bit, Francis." He remarked as they continued on.

"Speaking of other survivors, though… do you think the four we met on the bridge made it okay?" Zoey asked.

"I hate it when you ask that question. Isn't this like the hundredth time you've asked?" Francis griped.

"We've found proof that there were other survivors in the area at some point. It's very possible that they made it- in fact I'd say it's probable that they did."

Ellis kept at their heels all the way, enjoying the bits and pieces of conversations he caught. It was nice to hear a voice that wasn't his.

Eventually the trio made it to a safe house and Ellis debated what he could do from here. He needed to find more ammo… but he didn't' know if this was just a quick raid of a safe house or if it was going to be one of those moments when they would stay in there for the rest of the day.

Ellis looked to the sky for a moment, hoping to catch a hint and found that the sun was now low over the horizon. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully- unless the trio also travelled by night it was most likely that they were stopping to stay the night.

Looking from left to right, Ellis circled around to the house next door to Zoey and her friends. He slid in through the window instead of taking the front door, and nodded at the common he found in the home. They were fixed on the house next door, not even noticing Ellis' presence.

The search was fairly fast and Ellis was able to find just enough ammo to reload his magazine. He also grinned when he ran across a katana, the blade reminding him of Nick- it had always been his weapon of choice. Ellis still preferred a bat but he preferred a katana over a crowbar so Ellis swapped the melee weapon he had been carrying for the katana.

Ellis watched through a window free from other infected while the other survivors recuperated from the day. At one point Ellis realized he was being very similar to a stalker and pulled away from the window, shaking his head. He decided he might as well rest and get some sleep- and if Zoey and the others left without him he could always track them by scent. Glad to have worked out a plan and even gladder to have something interesting to do again, Ellis curled up on the couch and quickly fell asleep.

….

A commotion of some sort woke Ellis up in the night and he looked around quickly, his first thought was worry that the trio was under attack. In the end Ellis realized it was coming from farther away than that. He headed for the door, keeping his gaze moving and holding to the shadows once more.

It was much farther away than Ellis had thought initially and he was about to leave and let be whatever was going on when a smell he recognized fully brushed against his nose. Recognition bloomed across his mind and he began to move quickly towards the infected activity, passing common headed in the same direction.

He came upon a group of zombies surrounding something, more joining all the time. Ellis attempted to get through, interested in what could have caught their attention- mainly to quench his own curiosity on the situation. Ellis quickly stepped back when he realized the possibility it was a pipe bomb thrown by a survivor-which could explain the smell since scents rubbed off on things touched- but he didn't hear any beeping. In fact, if he listened hard enough, he could hear laughter.

"Shit!" Ellis snarled as the situation clicked into place. Ellis began pushing his way through the common but they attacked him now. This was their prey and he was not to interfere. Ellis snarled- he didn't know what had gotten the survivor into this situation but he would not let the person fall prey to these monsters. Even if he was pretty sure he was one of them now.

Ellis took only a moment to debate on how to go about this situation and in the end settled on his melee weapon. His claws actually worked great for attacking and fighting- he should know, he had battled a hand to hand match with a hunter with them. But they also made him feel less human… so Ellis decided that unless it called for it the claws would be kept out of this battle.

After that mini debate was over Ellis set to work in dispatching the common that were surrounding the familiar person. The common infected, realizing they were under attack, turned their sights to Ellis but in a way it was like he was invisible. They couldn't seem to comprehend the massive damage Ellis was dealing though he was one of them… so the common continued to fight back though they didn't stray away from their first focus.

Blood was pooling on the ground and Ellis fought not to slip in it as he slashed and dodged and diced the common infected nearest to him. Pale eyes were angry and in a way Ellis felt they looked betrayed but he didn't feel any guilt at all. He wasn't killing them to kill; he had a purpose for once. And he was slowly beginning to reach that purpose as infected fell by his hands. The infected finally got with the program and began attacking Ellis in full force, causing the hick to take some serious damage before he was able to take down the last of them. Ellis stayed in the finishing position of his last swing a moment, making sure that really was the last of them.

"Yeeeeeeer my heroooooo." Came a voice familiar but not. Ellis turned to face the man that meant so much to him… the man he never thought he'd see again.

"Nick!" Ellis said, glad to see that not all of the blood on the ground was the conman's. "What in the _hell _are you doing here?!" Ellis snarled at him, critical look working its way down Nick's body. Nick was still laughing feebly, head swaying back and forth and he reeked of alcohol.

Nick's gaze was unfocused as he looked up at Ellis but seeing the other man sent Nick into another round of weak laughter.

"Yoooooou surrrrrrrrre look a lot like….. like… like this guy. This guy I knew. Yeah, I knew him a' one point. I can't seem….. seem to find him. Though. I don' spose you've seen a man called Ellis?" Nick asked, chuckling between his word slurs.

"God Nick, what've ya done to yerself." Ellis said, attempting to help Nick to his feet. It made Ellis' back creak in pain as he straightened. Nick clung to him, his feet unsteady beneath him.

Well… this was a bit of a predicament. What did Ellis do with him now? The man was in no state to fight… but Ellis couldn't stick around him. As much as he wanted to.. God he had missed Nick- so much that he found himself clinging to Nick as well. He pulled the man into a hug, nuzzling his neck.

"Nick… Nick why are you here?" Ellis questioned, running his nose up and down Nick's neck. Nick, of course, didn't respond with anything except more chuckling which was so very unlike him. Ellis heaved a sigh, his nose wrinkling at how strong the smell of alcohol was on Nick.

"Good grief, man, how much've you even drank?" Ellis said… He realized he needed to find a place for Nick to stay. There was a boarded up bar nearby which Ellis suspected the conman had come from. Half dragging, half carrying Nick Ellis brought him back to the bar. Common infected were now keen on attacking him- they wanted the precious cargo that he was carrying. More than once Ellis had to set Nick down so that he could fight off the infected-he was saving his ammo for a later time when he felt he would need it more.

"Well Nick, ya shoul' be alright now." Ellis said once the door was shut behind them. He took a deep breath and nodded when the scents he caught weren't mingled with recent infected in the area. But then the smell of Nick and alcohol were so strong that it was possible the other scents were hidden.

Bottles lay empty, scattered around the bar and Ellis shook his head. He had wondered why Nick was so out of it.. he'd always taken Nick as a man able to handle his alcohol. But this much? Ellis began to worry that Nick might die from alcohol poisoning.

Snagging a bucket- just in case- Ellis tried to decipher the kind of bar this was. He was hoping it was the kind that had the beds in the back… even if once upon a time he had been disgusted by this kind of bar. He never really fancied the idea of sleeping with a total strangers just for the feel of sex. Finding a back to the bar, Ellis headed in that direction and found signs that this was, indeed, that kind of bar. Ellis kept pulling Nick until he found one of the back rooms to the bar where a very nice looking bed was waiting.

"Here ya go, man. I'll take care of ya, alright?" Ellis said, lying Nick down on the ground so that he could scoop the other man up into his arms bridal style. Nick looped his arms around Ellis' neck and settled his face in the crook of Ellis' neck, burying his face in Ellis' neck and causing him to shiver.

"Dammit man, yer nose is cold." Ellis teased as he attempted to set Nick down on the bed. He didn't let go at first, nearly choking Ellis until Nick's arms slid away from him tiredly. Once he had situated Nick comfortably on the bed, he smiled down at the other man and ran a hand down his cheek-causing the conman to close his eyes and lean into Ellis' hand.

"Have you… have you seen Ellis?" Nick asked, his voice still dazed. Ellis wondered if, on top of being drunk, Nick had hit his head. Ellis shook his head in slight amusement. Nick would be paying for this tomorrow. At least Ellis could find amusement in it tonight-Nick was acting so very much like a child for once.

"Nick, I'mma be right back. I gotta getcha somethin' ta dilute that alcohol in yer system." Ellis said, pulling his hand away. Nick opened his eyes to watch Ellis as he left the room and then came back with water that he had found with only a small bit of difficulty. He slipped an arm around Nick's shoulders and offered him the cup which Nick pushed away at first. Finally, with Ellis' insistence, he drank the glass. Ellis moved to fetch Nick another glass when a tight grip on his arm caught him and held him back.

"Don't." Nick said and Ellis felt his heart leap into his throat. Nick sounded extremely clear now- not drunk in the slightest. Ellis glanced over at him fearfully- he didn't want Nick to see him like this.

"Don' what?" Ellis asked quietly.

"Leave me. Don't leave me." Nick replied. He didn't break down into giggles again but with the way his focus didn't seem to be able to remain on Ellis, Ellis figured that Nick was still very much drunk and the earlier fear washed away.

"Don' worry, Nick. 'm here fer ya, jus' like always." Ellis explained, causing Nick to smile. The conman pushed up from the bed, grip on Ellis' wrist moving down to hold his hand instead. Ellis watched with interest- shocked by how fluidly Nick could move from a lying position to kneeling on the bed even though he was drunk out of his mind. The hick also didn't resist when Nick reached out to cup his cheek, causing Ellis' eyes to slip closed. How much had he missed this? Not just the time he spent with another person but the feeling of being loved?

"Nick." Ellis murmured softly and was only a little shocked when warm lips were pressing against his insistently. A part of Ellis' mind argued whether this was a good idea but Ellis ignored it… he hadn't thought he'd ever be able to kiss Nick again. For crying out loud, he never thought he'd see the other man again! Ellis was going to allow himself to have this moment.

It was slow, it was soft, and it was steady. All of which surprised Ellis, circumstances considered. Nick pulled back a moment, his hazed over gaze staring into Ellis' lustily.

"I missed you." Nick whispered, tugging on Ellis gently until the hick was kneeling on the bed as well. Once Nick had achieved that victory he began guiding Ellis while also moving back on the bed. When Nick pulled Ellis back in to continue where they had left off, Nick was pressed back against the headboard. Ellis was resting between his thighs, lying against Nick in a mostly comfortable position.

"Ah God, Nick." Ellis whimpered as Nick ground his hips up into Ellis. The man below Ellis was already rock hard and ready to go, causing heat to flood Ellis' system. He returned the grind, his own shaft at a little more than half staff. This pulled a long, drawn out moan from Nick. Ellis loved the sound of the other man's voice- probably a little too much. He ground down again, and relished in the sound drawn from Nick once more.

"Fuck me. God, please fuck me." Nick begged, catching Ellis completely off guard. He stared at Nick before shaking his head- Nick couldn't possibly mean… no. No way. Nick, probably taking this as a complete denial instead of confusion, reached down and roughly grabbed the tent that had been growing beneath Ellis' coveralls.

"Shit man, not so rough!" Ellis griped, the grip from Nick's hand causing pain to shoot through him in short, spiked waves. When Nick didn't relinquish his grip, Ellis decided to fight fire with fire and reached down to grope Nick roughly as well. The results he got from that were quite opposite from what he expected- Nick keened softly, canting his hips up against Ellis' hand. He released Ellis to loop his arms around Ellis' neck once more-his clouded gaze staring into Ellis'.

"So ya like it rough?" Ellis murmured, beginning to work at the buttons of Nick's shirt with one hand while continuing to forcefully palm Nick's arousal. It was difficult to do both at the same time and his fingers fumbled with the buttons often. At one point Ellis was surprised he hadn't just cut the shirt open on accident and vaguely noticed he didn't even have claws at the moment. It was pushed to the back of his mind; however, as Nick pulled him back down for another steamy kiss.

The way Nick's mouth moved against Ellis' should have been illegal- it soon had Ellis aching longingly for the man below him. He finished the buttons on the shirt as quickly as he could before pushing the shirt off of Nick's shoulders.

Nick looked down at the skin Ellis had exposed on the conman before looking back at Ellis. He began to tug insistently at Ellis' shirt but seemed too out of it to remove it. Ellis carefully unlooped Nick's arms from his neck to slip his shirt away from oversensitive skin. Nick's hands were on him within seconds of getting the shirt off-exploring the better defined areas of muscle while Ellis quickly slipped out of his coveralls as well. Nick nodded in approval, fighting to get his own shirt the rest of the way off. He began to fumble with the button of his pants, causing Ellis to shake his head.

"Yew really are drunk, Nick." Ellis reiterated, as if it needed saying. Nick looked up at him a moment before grinning.

"I'm not…I'm not drunk. I'm dreaming…. Or I'm dead." Nick replied matter-of-factly. This pulled Ellis up a short a moment. Was he taking advantage of Nick? The man was pretty much out of his mind… he wasn't at all like himself. But it was still Nick…

Ellis felt guilt sweep through him. He was counting on the alcohol to make Nick forget about this night. He couldn't remain around the conman after this. There was a plan forming in Ellis' mind on what he was going to do to help Nick… but that didn't involve Ellis coming back into Nick's life. Not when that would just cause more pain for both of them. Ellis would prevent Nick from safety if Nick ever decided to stay with him… and he hadn't the last time… or at least he hadn't at first. Why was Nick even still here?

Nick successfully got his pants off- that taking up his full focus for the time being. Once he looked back up at Ellis the conman's expression fell into one of sadness.

"What's wrooong? Don't worry… we're going to find Ellis…" Nick said before taking Ellis' face in his hands and kissing him lovingly. Ellis' eyes slid closed, a tear falling down his cheek at that. One last time… Ellis could have one last time with Nick and then never again. He'd let the conman go. He silently swore to himself that he would.

The kiss that Nick had been maintaining with heated lips and sensual tongue was broken as the conman attempted to catch his breath. Ellis, who was having a hard time breathing in general just by the way Nick's scent surrounded him, leaned down to suck on Nick's sweetest spot. He was going to pleasure this man to the best of his abilities so that even if Nick didn't remember his body would… At first there was no reaction from Nick and Ellis wondered if he had remembered the wrong spot…. But soon the man was writhing beneath him and Ellis felt victorious at having learned one of Nick's weak spots.

Nick's hips lifted, seeking friction, and Ellis reached down to grope the area roughly once more which caused Nick to make a sound that Ellis couldn't describe beyond the word 'sensual'. Ellis pulled back enough to nip and bite at the sensitive areas along Nick's jaw- slowly becoming a little rougher with his ministrations. Nick's movements became jerkier as needy noises fell from his lips. Ellis knew that alcohol could take a person and make them behave in a way they would never behave otherwise but Nick's behavior was borderline ridiculous at this point…

"Close. God, so close." Nick whimpered and Ellis debated getting the man out of his briefs… but before he could really decide one way or the other Nick reached orgasm and dampness bled across his briefs as Ellis pulled his hand away. Ellis leaned forward to nip at Nick's earlobe while the man came down from his pleasure high, enjoying the way Nick's breaths wouldn't come out evenly.

"Doin' ok, Nick?" Ellis whispered against Nick's ear as the man's breath continued to hitch. He pulled back to make sure that the man was alright and he found that there were tears in Nick's eyes- very close to being shed.

"I looked. I looked for so long. And I couldn't find you. I couldn't find you. Where were you?" Nick asked, his hands moving to grip Ellis' shoulders as the watery green gaze stared into Ellis' own blue eyes. He broke the gaze, however, unable to answer Nick's question. How long had Nick been alone? How long had he been out here? How had Ellis not even known.

"I's s'okay Ellis. Don't cry. Because I found you… I have you now so it's all ok." Nick replied, wiping the tear that fell down Ellis cheek. Nick looked curiously at the black that had smudged on his thumb and Ellis pulled away from the man, scrubbing at his cheek.

"Ellis?" Nick asked, pushing himself up to follow. Ellis wanted to bolt at the moment… he didn't want to be here. He wanted to find some dark place to hole up in where he'd be safe from Nick's discovery. What if the man didn't forget? But Ellis couldn't leave yet-not when Nick could follow and get himself into the same predicament he had been in earlier.

"'s alrigh' Nick, 'm here." Ellis said, moving in close to the other man once more. "Why don'tcha get some sleep?" Ellis offered, pushing Nick into a lying position but the conman shook his head stubbornly.

"We haven't taken care of you, yet." Nick said though Ellis' erection had actually gone soft from fear. He found he actually really wasn't in the mood anymore. He found he didn't want his last time with Nick to have the haze of alcohol hanging over it.

"I'm ok, Nick." Ellis promised but Nick shook his head once more. Ellis noticed the other man had got his briefs off and wondered when he had managed that.

"I…. I know what this is. I…. I can take it tonight." Nick mumbled, his words on the edge of incomprehensible.

"What?" Ellis asked but Nick didn't explain. Instead he tugged on one of Ellis' hands before pulling it up to his mouth. He began to suck on Ellis' fingers and the hick could feel the blood begin to flood south. He closed his eyes, trying to fight the feelings but the sensations Nick was giving him was causing his body to quickly awaken with interest.

Nick worked saliva around three of Ellis' fingers, his eyes hooded while he worked. When he was satisfied he released Ellis' fingers and moved Ellis' hand down to Nick's ass. Ellis felt his eyes widening as Nick did this, shivering along with Nick when the tips of his fingers brushed against the rosebud of muscle. When Ellis didn't move to continue what Nick had started, Nick rocked his hips in an attempt to push the finger into himself.

"You don' hafta do this." Ellis said, not wanting to add that he couldn't stay either way.

"I don't want you to leave." Nick whispered as he worked his hips slowly. "Come… Come on. I'm not… not going to offer…. This to you… often."

Ellis, biting his lower lip, finally gave in. Maybe Nick would pass out before they got around to what Nick was asking for. Ellis began to pump one finger in and out, surprised by the heat that enveloped it when he pushed in. This continued for a while before Ellis felt safe to add a second finger. He prepared Nick slowly and thoroughly, attempting to get the man to orgasm and hopefully pass out so that Ellis could leave before he no longer had the will to.

Three fingers, moving in and out fairly easily, still hadn't gotten Nick over the edge and Ellis remembered there was a specific spot to hit. He searched for it, shifting the angles of his thrusts while Nick watched him- gaze steady though still going in and out of focus.

"I'm ready." Nick said softly and Ellis glanced up at the other man as he said this. Ellis pulled his fingers free, trying to quell the excitement that was bubbling in his system. He couldn't deny that the idea of being the top partner had appealed to him… and even though this was not the situation he had wanted it in he began to break down slowly.

Nick shifted so that he was lying on the bed, fully underneath Ellis. He looked up at the other man, a question in his eyes.

"Is…. Is this the right position for you?" Nick asked and Ellis was confused at first before nodding.

"I always want ta see yer face." Ellis whispered, leaning down to kiss Nick softly as the conman reached for Ellis. Nick began to guide Ellis into the proper position, tugging Ellis' briefs down so that they were around Ellis' knees, giving a soft whimper when he felt Ellis' length brush against him.

"I love yew, Nick." Ellis breathed quietly, capturing Nick's lips once more to save the conman from responding. Ellis lined his hips up and began trying to work his way in, Nick's fingers digging into his shoulders as he moved. Ellis could feel Nick's muscles tightening around him when he had successfully breeched Nick's entrance.

"Are ya doin' alrigh'?" Ellis asked softly. Nick nodded though his expression was slightly pained.

Ellis continued to push in slowly with gentle rolls of his hips. It was difficult not just to try and shove all the way in but Ellis was kept at bay by remembering how painful it was for him that first time. A couple more pushes and Ellis was as far in as he could go.

"Yew still ok?" Ellis checked again, his gaze searching for anything that told him to stop. Nick's fingers were still digging into Ellis' shoulder blades and Nick's legs came up to wrap around Ellis' hips. Nick began to shift impatiently below him and Ellis started up his movement, pulling out slowly before pressing back in.

"Stop being…. Being so soft. I'm…. not…. A girl." Nick ground out and Ellis rolled his eyes.

"Whether ya are er no', I wouldn' wanna hurtcha either way." Ellis said slowly, fighting for focus while his body was undergoing waves of pleasure. Taking Nick's words into consideration, however, Ellis picked up his pace faster than he would have liked. Nick nodded and closed his eyes and of all the expressions Ellis had seen this one looked resigned to its fate. Ellis didn't like that… he didn't like that this was so difficult for Nick to cope with.

Ellis began to shift his angle- he had to find that spot. His own pleasure wasn't important when Nick was so obviously not in pleasure at the moment. In attempt to distract the other man Ellis reached down and stroked Nick in pace with his thrusts.

Several thrusts later had Nick's back arching up, fingers scratching pathways down Ellis' back and he knew he had found the right spot. Nick began to cling to Ellis like he was the only thing that existed in the world and maybe for a short while Ellis could be Nick's entire world.

Ellis continued to push in and slide out, a layer of sweat collecting as he worked to pleasure Nick. The feelings that were enveloping him made Ellis moan softly every time he pushed back into the velvety heat that was Nick.

"Are…. Are…. You…. Close…?" Nick asked, forcing the words out between thrusts. His voice seemed lost and it sent a tingling wave down Ellis' spine.

"God, yes." Ellis moaned out, heat clenching heavily in his gut. Nick nodded and reached down to push Ellis' hand out of the way, taking up the hand job himself so that Ellis could focus on the thrusts.

Ellis wasn't quite ready for it when Nick came with a cry, the conman's body clenching around him. It took 3 thrusts into that restricting heat for Ellis to lose his load and he wondered vaguely if Nick had wanted him to pull out. He had to admit he had no issues with the idea of his seed coating Nick's insides… the conman was his. And now Ellis had claimed him… though ironically it had been Nick's idea all along.

Unable to hold himself up any longer Ellis' weight pressed down onto Nick but the conman didn't seem to mind. Ellis gave the conman a tender kiss as he slid out of the warm of the gambler's body.

"Ellis…" Nick said softly, his eyelids drooping heavily.

"Yeah?" Ellis asked as he moved to lie next to Nick. The conman's gaze was serious as he looked into Ellis' eyes.

"I love you, too." He said softly yet clearly, as if he wanted to make sure Ellis heard every word. Ellis choked in surprise, his eyes widening… before a sad smile spread across his features. He leaned in to kiss the conman's forehead, his nose, and then his mouth once more.

"Thanks Nick." Ellis said softly as Nick curled into him, eyes slipping closed. Nick was soon fast asleep… and drowsiness was enveloping Ellis as well but he couldn't stay. As carefully as he could Ellis untangled himself from Nick's arms, collecting up his clothing and dressing silently.

Ellis quickly refilled the glass of water and brought a table in so that he could set the glass next to the bed. He then went about carefully cleaning Nick up, trying his best not to wake the man, before tucking him in and stepping away from the bed. He didn't want to leave… not right now. Not ever, really… but if he didn't leave now Ellis was sure he'd never leave and he couldn't be around Nick anymore. The conman deserved a life that wasn't constantly plagued by zombies.

Standing in the doorway Ellis wondered how many times Nick had done this to a woman. It bothered Ellis to think he was becoming a man similar to the man Nick used to be… but it wasn't like he had a choice. And it wasn't like he would do this again… not ever.

Ellis made sure to lock the house behind him after double checking to make sure that none of the infected had been able to get inside. Ellis held the door handle for longer than it was necessary, watching his fingers lengthen into the claws he was so used to having. He didn't really think much of it… just that he was glad that the claws had left in a timely manner so as not to injure Nick.

After that Ellis set to work getting his plan into motion. Nick couldn't face this alone and although Ellis would, of course, watch the conman's back Ellis couldn't let Nick find him. Tears slid slowly down Ellis' face as he worked to set up an obvious pathway between the trio he had found earlier and Nick.

Finishing up just as the sun began to rise Ellis found a place to hide where he could watch. He'd keep his friends safe the best he could- even if they didn't know it was him.

….

"Shit." Nick mumbled, attempting to sit up and clutch at his head but that caused a pain to shoot up his spine. "Goddammit."

"And he rejoins the living." Louis said cheerfully, bringing a bottle of pills into the room Nick had previously been comatose in.

Nick's eyes widened as he looked at the dark skinned man… who was this guy? He seemed vaguely familiar… If it weren't for the horrific migraine he was coping with Nick would say he was dreaming. The conman forced himself to sit up, annoyed and questioning of the intense pain that seemed to come from his ass at the movement. He must have fallen at some point while drinking and just didn't remember it now… Nick sighed, resting his face in his hands as he tried to push the migraine away.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Zoey teased lightly, joining Louis to look down at Nick. "Are you with us yet, suit?"

"Oh. It's you." Nick said, his voice monotone as he recalled the other group. Even if he didn't remember any of the other survivors from the group they had met briefly he couldn't forget Zoey. She, in Nick's opinion, was the bane of his existence.

"Well that's one way of saying hello. If you're an ass." Zoey snorted.

"I hate this. Why are we even here helping this guy?" Francis asked as he came in.

"I see you still have that hideous vest." Nick said, pulling his wits together enough to be able to insult the other man.

"I see you're still a douche." Francis replied, glowering down at the other man. Louis got Nick's attention with the pills and the conman took them without so much as a thank you.

"Some things never change." Zoey murmured. "So, Colonel Sanders, what the hell are you doing here? Where's the rest of your group?"

Nick smirked. It was obvious that she was trying not to sound concerned. Nick heaved a sigh before explaining. "Rochelle and Coach made it to the helicopter."

"And you didn't?" Francis asked.

"Obvioiusly, grease monkey." Nick replied, glowering.

"Well what happened? Did it leave without you?" Louis asked.

"Yeah. I was a little farther behind Rochelle and Coach so by the time I got there it was gone."

"You should consider yourself lucky, Nick." Louis replied.

"Why? It left me here to suffer through this hell alone." Nick grumbled.

"So is Ellis…?" Zoey asked, her expression softening.

"Dead?..." Nick rubbed his chin as he thought about how to answer this. 'He might as well be' wouldn't be a very good response… and saying that Ellis had chosen to stay behind meant that Nick would have to explain the whole goddamn story and he didn't feel like doing that. "We don't know. He disappeared at one point and we couldn't find him after that. So he might be." Nick shrugged. Speaking of Ellis… where was he, really?

"How can you be so goddamned calloused about that?" Zoey growled, her glower matching the power of Francis'.

"What? About Ellis?" Nick asked, not quite following what Zoey meant.

"Obviously. One of your teammates disappeared and you just… didn't care?" She inquired.

"Look. It's not like Rochelle, Coach, and I didn't care. We looked for him… we looked for a long time. But we didn't find him. There was nothing we could do- we had to move on." Nick growled and then regretted it as his head gave a painful throb. Zoey seemed to accept that as a better response, nodding and her glower softened to an expression of annoyance.

"So you're here all alone?" Zoey asked.

"Yes." Nick replied though it felt wrong to say in his head. _But he was alone… _

"Dammit. Of all the survivors to be left behind we had to end up with this bastard." Francis growled.

"Hey, I've survived this long on my own. I don't need you guys and you don't need me so why don't we just make this easier on one another? You guys can walk out the door and we'll forget about all of this." Nick growled.

"Do you have any plans to go after Rochelle and Coach?" Louis inquired, ignoring Nick's previous words.

"No. It's not like I'm going to be able to find them after this." Nick replied in annoyance.

"You may want to plan on trying to find them… and you can tag along with us for that, as well." Zoey put in.

"Why? I figured one safe hold is the same as any other."

"Because Rochelle and Coach are in fucking danger of becoming experiments or some shit like that." Francis ground out angrily.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nick asked, his heart beginning to pound heavily in his chest.

"We're talking about how CEDA has fallen and the military has taken over. And how they've been trying to figure out the difference between someone immune, a carrier, and someone who catches the disease. Bill used to mention how it was just a matter of time for all of us…" Zoey explained. "No matter if Coach and Rochelle are carrier or immune it's most likely they're being taken somewhere where they can be analyzed. The last helicopter picking up for real rescue stopped rescuing a long time ago."

"Are you fucking kidding me? So you're saying that Rochelle and Coach have become lab rats?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Louis replied.

"Well what the hell are we still doing here? Let's go rescue their asses!" Nick replied. It wasn't like he had anything better to do… he hadn't been able to find Ellis. Though that worried Nick a great deal it was time to let hunting the kid go. Rochelle and Coach needed rescuing- if Zoey and the rest of them were to be trusted. Ellis would show up in his own time- Nick was sure of it. He hoped the kid was still alright.

Fighting a cringe as Nick pushed to his feet, he reached for his gun before realizing he was down to his briefs.

"I could have lived my entire life without seeing that." Francis griped, turning to leave the room.

"So I take it we can count you in, Suit?" Zoey asked. She received a nod from Nick.

"Alright then, let's get a move on." Louis replied, leading the way. He paused outside the door with Zoey and they gave each other looks… they didn't really want Nick along but an extra gun might come in handy and besides, Nick had helped them out the other day…. That they hadn't come across Nick earlier still baffled them. With a nod to one another they prepared to enter the battle that they had already fought so many times… and would probably fight at least as many times more.

"Let's go kick some ass." Nick said, joining them a short while later. He crossed his fingers mentally, hoping that Ellis would catch on to this somehow and follow. He didn't really want to leave the kid behind. Wondering what had even become of the kid, Nick followed the trio out into the infected city. "Hang in there guys, we're coming for you."


	2. Walls

Aaaaaaaand Chapter 2 is now complete. Not much to say…. Thanks for the people who have reviewed, you got this chapter flowing! Please continue to refiew- I can't tell you how much it means to hear back from people. Comments and Critiques are seriously always welcomed and loved, they mean the world to me and they inspire to sit down and work on days I'm having slumps. 3 Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 2

"So, Zoey… what's on the menu for dinner tonight?" Nick asked as the three and one survivors piled into the safe house. His voice was raised so that it could be heard over the grumbling and scraping of the infected outside.

"I don't know, Nick. What are you making for us?" Zoey asked, flipping her hair as she looked at him. "If you think it's my job to make you dinner because I'm a woman you've got another thing coming."

"I miss Rochelle already." Nick sighed as he bypassed the kitchen.

"I'm surprised you survived so long without her… considering how you don't seem to know how to take care of yourself." Zoey replied and Nick glanced back at her. Yep, her expression matched the sharp, snarky tone to her voice.

Nick rolled his eyes, climbing the stairs of the house to glare out of one of the upper story windows. He had been battling with this group for a couple days now and he still felt just as alienated as he had felt on the first day. Zoey, Francis, and Louis knew one another. They knew how they fought and they knew how to work together and they didn't actually need Nick.

This, of course, did not make it any easier for Nick to work with the group. He found himself lagging behind the group more often than not. He also found that there were less zombies attacking him than the others but perhaps they were more attracted to multiple survivors than one battling alone- though it hadn't seemed that way when he had been on his own at the beginning.

If it weren't for Rochelle and Coach Nick would not be putting up with this hell. There was quite honestly no reason for him to stick around Zoey, Louis, and Francis… he was perfectly willing to battle on his own.

As Nick stared out at the landscape he wondered what had happened to Ellis. A few nights ago, before he had been found by Zoey, Louis, and Francis, he had had a vivid dream about finding Ellis. The dream, of course, turned to one of sex and since it was a dream Nick allowed himself the vulnerability of being bottom- something he'd have never done in the waking world. He found it odd to wake up so sore the next day but… perhaps he'd gotten a little wild in his sleep. And obviously his ass ached because he had fallen on it before passing out- he had been extremely drunk after all.

"Where are you, Overalls?" Nick asked the window before moving away from it. He looked down the hall, debating sleeping without dinner. He then looked down the stairs… he really didn't want to put up with the vest wearing grease monkey or Ellis' Angel at the moment so, even though his stomach grumbled in protest, Nick headed off to bed.

…..

Ellis rolled his eyes in annoyance. Nick could be such a stubborn ass at times. Ellis was already risking things as it was, keeping the zombies off of Nick… He'd been careful not to shoot anymore… That would be an absolute dead giveaway. Instead Ellis battled from the shadows, taking down zombies before they reached Nick and the other three.

Nick going without eating anything was something Ellis felt he couldn't just let slide. Sighing as he slipped away from the window, Ellis scaled down the side of the building.

"I'm righ' here, Nick-keepin' ya safe." Ellis murmured in a delayed response to Nick's question. He had had to jump to the side quickly so that Nick didn't see him when the gambler had come to the window. Ellis had been patrolling the outside of the house, warding off the infected that he could while also attempting to keep an eye on Nick and the others.

That Nick was still very much alone bothered Ellis. Why couldn't the conman just make friends with people? It had never been a difficult feat for Ellis but for whatever reason it seemed impossible for Nick to accomplish.

Ellis sighed heavily as he searched the nearby grocery store. He found a large can of a fruit mixture and felt that would work just fine. He knew he was really risking his ass bringing this to Nick and he was really counting on the conman being so peeved with the others that he won't mention having it… Ellis knew that it was a long shot and that he could get himself into serious trouble but he couldn't just let Nick slide by without eating.

Ellis' stomach gave a growl as well and he sighed once more, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. Being around the survivors so often made his mouth water… and he absolutely hated it. He hated knowing what he was and what he'd become. Ellis was determined to make the best out of this not so great situation, however… he would use his abilities to help the others and push away any of the negative aspects of being what he was.

The aisles were full of food that had gone bad so it took quite a bit of scrounging for Ellis to find anything else edible. He looked at his can of olives a little sadly- they were a lot better than nothing but by now Ellis knew how much his stomach would rebel against anything but meat. He had tested his theory once by eating some of the rancid store meat and unsurprisingly it hadn't made him sick and it obviously hadn't killed him. It had, however, disgusted Ellis in more ways than one and he wasn't interested in trying it again. A shiver tingled down Ellis' spine at even considering it.

It was a simple manner getting the olive can open and quickly scarfing through the food. There was a strong metal tang to the food but besides that it didn't taste all that bad… and though it made his stomach flinch and quiver, he was happy that his stomach was no longer hollow. Ellis knew he was going to need to find another way to cope with his hunger but for now he was quite happy making due on what he could.

Cans were never fun to carry, especially one as big and bulky as the one Ellis had picked up… but he had also solved that problem a while back by hunting down a backpack. He settled the can of fruit cocktail into it before hefting the bag onto his back and beginning to head out but a sound brought him up short.

"Dammit." Ellis hissed under his breath as the sobs of a Witch whispered nearby. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard it earlier and was glad that he hadn't run into it.

Ellis crept around aisles and counters, keeping an eye out for the pale demon. Witches, of all the infected, were the only kind that still terrified Ellis. He had learned the hard way about how, even in his new state, Witches could still do quite a bit of damage.

Red eyes gleamed from a corner and Ellis nodded to himself, thinking: _There ya are, ya bitch._ He kept low as he attempted to creep past her, painfully curling his claws in and walking on his knuckles so that the floor didn't give him away with clicking.

Ellis' breath felt heavy in his lungs as he continued to hold it even after the witch had gone from his sight. In hind sight Ellis realized he could have easily doubled back and gone a different away… but then he had been trying to avoid the sound and had found himself drawn to it still. To the special infected Witches were more like sirens- which never ended well for anyone since witches still wished to be left alone, even by other infected.

The air gushed from Ellis' lungs in a relieved manner and he attempted to ignore the throbbing in his knuckles in favor of pride for getting past the witch unscathed. But this was Ellis we were talking about and lately nothing ever seemed to be in his favor. At least, for once, it wasn't Ellis' fault.

Even Ellis flinched at the resounding crash that echoed throughout the store and was then echoed by a shrill scream. Eyes darting around quickly, Ellis landed on the source and he glowered a moment before events became too hectic for things like expressions.

"Goddamn good fer nothin' common." Ellis grumbled, his gaze darting around the stack of cans the common had knocked over. He moved past them quickly, however, when the Witch's screams of rage began to race towards him. Ellis had just enough time to look back in shock when something was swiping at his back. Ellis could fell sharp nails grazing his sides and he wouldn't be surprised if the Witch had just shredded his backpack.

"Dammit…." Ellis muttered as he pulled back to his feet as fast as he could to face the Witch. Her red eyes stared at him, animalistic hate clouding the clarity of the color. Ellis attempted a snarl to warn her off but in fact that almost made her smile… like she was a superior human and Ellis, her lowly, misbehaving mutt. In fact that was how Witches treated all of the lower- like misbehaving dogs… and they had no mercy on which dogs needed to be put down (in short, any that interfered with the Witches' sulking).

Ellis could almost hear the laughter from the Witch as he backed away from her slowly. As she approached him, intent and malice in her eyes, Ellis couldn't help but release a small whimper. He didn't want this right now- or ever really. But especially not when he had a job to do… Funny how he was still risking his life for Nick.

A shrill scream came as a warning before the Witch was coming at him at top speed, claws outreaching and extending like a last shadow seen right before death.

Ellis was quick to dart around a corner and climb up a counter. If there was anything a witch couldn't do, it was climb. Even something as simple as a counter. She didn't need to, however- Witches were notorious for waiting out their prey amongst other infected.

This one was a little impatient, however, and Ellis wondered what her hurry was as she attempted to reach him. He had felt safe at first but if she was going to give it a shot then Ellis wasn't sure that she wouldn't be able to reach him.

The Witch's gleaming eyes came into view and Ellis gave a defensive swipe, clipping the Witch and sending her sprawling sideways. Ellis was shocked… but he forced himself to recover quickly… leaping down from the counter and pouncing the Witch in a hope to finish it then and there. Of course things couldn't be that easy for Ellis, though.

The time it had taken Ellis to recover from shock had given the Witch time to recover as well and she retaliated with a swipe that sent Ellis sprawling sideways. She was on him before he could fully recover, readying her claws for another swipe that Ellis deflected from his chest with a thrown out arm.

"Shit." Ellis stated as pain flooded his system. He couldn't keep his human posture, he couldn't keep his humanity… but he had kept the feeling of pain. This world was cruel.

Instincts kicking in as Ellis faced a true dilemma, his eyes sought out a weakness as the Witch went down for another swipe. Her swings were wide and left her open because whoever attacked a Witch anyway? Ellis did. Ellis attacked the Witch, swiping with his own claws and raking across her exposed ribs.

The Witch screamed in pain and her next attack was more vicious, more furious, and more determined to kill Ellis than before. Ellis continued deflecting her attacks with his arms and knew he would not want to see them after this battle. If he survived, that was.

Ellis continued to attack when he could and the Witch did the same and in that way they wore away at one another little by little. Ellis wondered how he even had arms left as this continued and he knew that one wrong clip and Ellis would no longer even have any use of his arms and then he really would be a goner. So, in a last desperate attempt, Ellis put the remainder of his strength in a slash that sent the Witch sprawling backwards. Ellis grappled to his feet and leaped, plunging his claws into the Witch's heart.

Just as with the Hunger, the Witch struggled for a moment- the look of horror and surprise priceless to Ellis as he severed her head from her body.

"Bitch." Ellis growled, removing his claws and turning to walk away. He headed out into the street, happy to see the sky just as he always was… but especially so after such a close call. That was, until he reached the safe house Nick and the others were occupying- planning on how to get in… and then discovering there was no reason to go into the safe house anymore.

It wasn't that the 3 and 1 survivors had left… they hadn't, they were still in the building. Ellis could hear the familiar sound of the Conman's sleeping breath and below the chatter of the trio… They were indeed still in the house. The reason Ellis no longer had a reason to go in was because he no longer had anything worth bringing Nick.

In that initial attack the Witch had caught the can and tore two gashes into the metal, releasing the treasure that had been kept inside. But even if she hadn't, the force of him landing on his back had practically flattened the can.

The frustration and bitterness overwhelmed Ellis in a flood and he scrubbed at the tears falling down his face. He didn't want Nick to go hungry… he wanted to be with Nick and there for the conman but he couldn't. And it was tearing Ellis apart… and just when he had something he could help Nick out with, Ellis had to go and mess it up.

Ellis buried his face in his knees as the black tears dripped from his face.

Footsteps up the stairs had Ellis sluggishly moving farther away from the window. After a moment of consideration Ellis pressed his ear against the wood. He would have been able to hear just as fine without doing so but he wanted to feel closer to the situation.

"Bastard. I don't see why Zoey sees fit to put up with you." Francis grumbled but Ellis could hear the clink dishware even as Francis griped. The footsteps then grew closer before receding down the stairs once more and Ellis glanced around the corner, feeling a strange sort of warmth in his heart from the care the others had given Nick. Hopefully Nick would accept the food.

Feeling just a little better, Ellis settled back to keep watch over the house. He moved to lick his claws free of blood but paused when he noticed that they were once again normal sized fingers. This discovery nearly had Ellis slipping off the roof before he was able to regain his composure. As Ellis watched the fingers lengthened into claws once more…. And Ellis began to wonder if it had been wishful thinking- a trick of the mind. Deciding not to dwell on it one way or another, Ellis made himself comfortable on the roof and prepared to wait for the trio of survivors and Nick to leave the house.

…..

Upon awaking Nick was pleasantly surprised to see food set at the side of his bed. He snatched it up and, after checking to make sure there was nothing strange in the food, began to eat it quickly- as if someone might come and steal it away from him at any moment. It didn't have the pleasant feeling of Rochelle's cooking since she always attempted to make it feel like a regular day meal-plates and silverware, the whole mile. This was still in the can but it had been heated at least and though it had cooled a little since then, it was still a great relief to Nick's stomach.

Having finished, Nick set the can on the table and headed downstairs. Zoey and Louis were standing over a map spread over a kitchen table. Francis was on the opposite side, sitting in a chair as he, too, looked over the map. The three glanced up at Nick as he entered the room before returning to their map. At least Louis gave a nod of acknowledgement in his direction.

Nick moved closer to the map, trying to figure out what their plan was… but he might as well have been trying to read Greek or Chinese. The symbols the three had drawn all over the map made no real sense to Nick.

"How far away were they taken?" Nick decided to pipe up because he couldn't even figure out where the ending place for this journey would be.. or even where they were at the moment.

"It's not going to be a pleasant little hiking trip to reach them, I can tell you that much." Francis grumbled, pulling his eyes away for a moment to glare over at Nick. Nick returned the glare- he really had never liked Francis much… even before all this infected shit they were in but especially not now. Of all the people to be left on Earth of course one of them would be Francis.

"Well is there an estimation on how many days this is going to take?" Nick pressed, biting back his irritation.

"Could take a week. Could take longer. It depends on how much you hold us back." Francis replied, glowering at Nick and the conman released a breath that hissed through his teeth.

"Alright. Ok. You know what? Tell me when we're ready to leave. I'll be in the other room." Nick said, just barely keeping his tone in check. With that he left the three to their map searching, going into the living room to collapse onto a couch. Now this… this felt familiar. Although he didn't have a rambling hick next to him this time.

"Dammit Ellis, what happened to you?" Nick sighed, placing his head in his hands and leaning forward. Nick was beginning to worry that he really wasn't going to see Ellis again. He didn't know where they were headed but eventually they'd make it out of New Orleans and then who knows how far away they'd make it. And every step taken could potentially be another away from Ellis- away from ever finding the man.

Nick was rubbing his face wearily with that thought in mind when his three traveling colleagues came in to the room and began to collect up their guns.

"Can I just ask… do you three ever sleep? Scratch that, I know Francis does. The world knows he does with his snores but do either of you two?" Nick asked, able to recognize Francis' snores… but never able to tell when either Zoey or Louis were catching any sleep. They really never seemed to sleep… or nap… or rest. They always seemed to be moving, doing something.

No one deigned to answer his question and he felt blocked out more so than usual. There was always a wall between him and the other three but it felt thicker than before- like he was being pushed away. Nick sighed… today was not going to be pleasant.

Still, as the rest pushed to their feet Nick followed without hesitation. He had been able to glean only small pieces of information on Rochelle and Coach's situation. They were pretty much back in the same situation that they had been in back at the swamps… he wondered if the earlier experimentation will change anything.

Nick also wondered, at times, if Coach and Rochelle were even still alive. Ellis too. Nick had had a few dark moments of consideration because in all truthfulness he may be the last of his little group-though he sorely hoped he was wrong. He didn't want to be the last… not at all. Strangely enough he was almost as strongly affected by the thought that Coach and Rochelle were dead as he was Ellis.

The day continued on as it usually did… infected attacked and the survivors attacked back. Nick, once again, fell a little farther back- allowing himself to be left behind in a sense. He could probably keep up with the others without too much trouble but it just didn't seem worth it when he was almost getting shot on three sides thanks to the other three not knowing the way Nick battled.

_Heh, if they thought he was bad they should try battling with Ellis,_ Nick thought to himself, partially amused. He was wrenched from his thoughts as a Tank came lumbering into the picture and Nick heaved a sigh. Damn this apocalypse… why did it have to create things like tanks anyway?

"Tank!" Zoey shouted as she, too, spotted it. The three immediately got into their Tank fighting formation. Well Nick thought it was a formation, anyway, but whenever he pointed it out he was firmly told it was not a battle formation… It amused Nick to watch, however, because when fighting a Tank Louis always took the left, Zoey always took the right, and Francis always too front and center unless of course for some reason one of the three were down.

"Take this, bitch!" Louis said, lighting a Molotov and hurling it at the Tank. The bottle shattered against the Tank's chest, alighting the monster in bright orange flame… and Nick couldn't help but be impressed. That was a pretty accurate throw.

"Keep Shooting It!" Zoey called and bullets echoed throughout the area as the 3 and 1 survivors attacked the giant infestation of disease.

"Timber!" Louis called out as the legs gave out beneath the Tank and it stumbled forward, collapsing in a heap in front of the trio and Nick. Not really sure what had spiked it, Nick was reminded of the time that Ellis took a tank on by himself. Or well… the time he had done it on purpose, rather, in the name of Zoey.

"You know, somewhere out there is a Tank corpse named after you in your honor." Nick teased Zoey lightly. He may not like the trio… he may not even want to be with them… but it was best to make the best of the situation lest he get shot in the ass again by one of the three because he got in their way.

"What?" Zoey asked, her brow furrowing in confusion as she turned back to look at him.

"It was Ellis' idea. He wanted to take on a Tank on his own and upon being successful he named it after you, in your honor."

"There's a Tank Corpse named after me?" Zoey repeated, just to clarify.

"Yes." Nick nodded.

"And your point in bringing it up?" Zoey asked, giving Nick a dubious look.

"No real reason… the Tank just reminded me of it. It wasn't the only time Ellis took on a tank alone, either… though that second time wasn't something he could have helped, really." Nick said, musing out loud.

"It's stupid to try and take a Tank down on your own." Francis pointed out and Nick couldn't argue with that so he just shrugged and nodded.

"But Ellis could do it."

"Maybe that's why he's not here." Francis pointed out and Nick felt like he had been slapped though he tried not to show it. He considered that for a moment… but no, Ellis wasn't dumb enough to get himself killed by facing a tank… right?

"Francis." Zoey said, glaring over at Francis and he looked away, rubbing at the back of his neck. He glowered over at Nick as soon as she looked away and Nick began to get the distinct feeling that if anyone was in charge it was Zoey.

"Well if I ever see Ellis again, I'll have to thank him." Zoey added in offhandedly, as if she didn't doubt that she would see him again eventually.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that." Nick responded. He didn't quite smile but he frowned a little less from her comment.

"So you think he's still out there, then?"

"Well you seem to so I don't see why I shouldn't."

"Obviously he's still around somewhere… the question is what kind of state he's in." Nick said, shrugging.

"It's not obvious," Zoey argued. "Being alone in this kind of world… people can't survive for very long… but you make it sound like Ellis could. Most people left on their own would be dead by now."

"I guess I just see Ellis as a stronger sort than to get himself killed." Nick offered offhandedly.

"I'm sure that Ellis is just fine, wherever he is." Louis put in and for a moment the walls were down and though Nick didn't include these other three as friends (especially not Francis) he could at least view them as comrades. They had saved his ass, after all, when he'd gotten shit-faced drunk…and they had invited him along to save Rochelle and Coach. Nick supposed in a way he really did owe them.

As the zombie numbers began to pick up once more, Nick again backed away from the trio. They still worked better with him out of the way, after all. He instead covered their backs and his own and it wasn't long before they were reaching the next safe house.

"You know, whoever sets up these safe houses is a god send." Louis said, holding the door open for the other three.

"Can't argue with that." Nick replied, nodding.

"So Nick, it's your turn to take care of dinner. What will you be gracing us with?" Zoey asked, taking a seat at the table. Nick heaved a sigh-he should have been expecting this.

First things first Nick moved over to the fridge but closed it just as quickly as he opened it because the smell that escaped was suffocatingly horrible. Backing away and pinching his nose, Nick began to hunt through the pantries.

"Stale crackers and peanut butter." Nick said, placing a box of crackers and a jar of peanut butter in front of Zoey.

"Is that the best you can do, Nick?" Zoey replied, her voice just this side of condescending.

"I don't cook." Nick answered smoothly. Well… he didn't cook when Ellis wasn't there telling him what to do. It wasn't that he didn't know how to cook- just that he didn't do it. Cooking didn't exactly bring back pleasant memories from his past oddly enough.. and even with the slightly better memories with Ellis, that did Nick no good when at the moment it just made him miss the kid more.

"Everyone on this team cooks." Zoey replied, her voice just as silky smooth as Nick's. Of course the first thing that crossed Nick's mind was that if Ellis ever did start a relationship with the spunky girl, he was pretty sure Zoey would wear the pants in the relationship.

"I'm only a temporary member." Nick countered.

"Your point?" Zoey crossed her arms and arched a brow, watching Nick with a scrutinizing gaze.

"My point is I'm not actually on this team."

There was silence as Zoey debated this. "As long as we fight together, speak to one another, and sleep in the same safe house we are a team. If you're not a part of this team you are absolutely free to leave. Right now." Zoey said, pointing to the door. Nick noticed Francis snickering and he gave the other man a dark look.

"Look. I found you guys something." Nick argued. "I don't cook, end of story." Nick said, turning his back on the pink jacketed woman to continue searching through the pantries. He knew better than to expect a box of crackers and peanut butter to be enough, anyway. He'd planned to continue searching all along. Obviously.

"Like I said, Nick, the door is over there." Zoey replied, pointing out the door once more though Nick's back was to her.

"Don't know why Ellis ever thought you were an _Angel_." Nick grumbled beneath his breath. He turned to look at the door in question and debated walking out for a moment… but then Rochelle ad Coach came to mind and that was enough to have him continuing his search one more. Cobwebs, mouse shit, insect carcasses… well didn't that just make a beautiful menu right there.

Eventually Nick came across a couple boxes of pasta as well as a jar of alfredo sauce that was still edible. Sighing he started hunting down pans, filling one with water and getting both on the stove. He fought to get the stove to ignite for a moment but finally the spark went through and it wasn't long before water was beginning to boil and sauce beginning to heat.

"Thank you, Nick." Zoey smiled innocently over at him and Nick rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. He refused to look in either Louis or Francis' direction- he was not interested in seeing their opinions of the situation written on their faces.

While Nick slaved over the stove, the other three munched contentedly on crackers dipped in peanut butter and spoke in hushed voices. Nick was sure he could eavesdrop on them if he wanted but at that point in time he just didn't care. Whatever they were talking about, they must not have minded if he heard considering they were chattering away in the same room as him. So obviously it wasn't interesting information to Nick. The interesting info was whatever the three didn't want him to know.

Finally, dinner was completed and set down before the three survivors still talking in low voices around the table. Filling a fourth bowl for himself, Nick began to leave the group when a hand gripped his arm.

"There's an extra chair in here if you'd like to stay." Louis offered, catching Nick off guard. He glanced over at the empty seat a moment, than back at Louis who had, by that time, released his arm. Zoey looked equally welcoming for Nick to join them. Francis, however, looked unhappy with the idea… which of course made up Nick's mind to take the last seat at the table.

"It's been awhile since someone has cooked like this." Louis mentioned in appreciation between bites.

"Zoey just said…" Nick trailed off, confused.

"Well yeah, it's always someone's job to find something edible… but usually it's whatever we can find in a can and quickly heat up." Louis explained which caused Nick's scowl to appear on his face, furrowing his brows low over his eyes.

"Well I guess my group knew how to do it right." Nick muttered offhandedly. It hadn't been until the very end that the group became so lazy and it was mainly because canned things were the only food available.

"You had a guy who could fight tanks on his own, someone who cooked for the rest of the group on a regular basis… and your group probably had a working coordination the way ours does… sounds like a pretty good group." Louis agreed and Nick smiled, albeit a little unwillingly.

"Do you miss them, then?" Zoey asked curiously. Nick glared over at her but, after a few moments thought, decided to answer her question.

"Do you think I'd be on this quest if I didn't?" Nick replied, resting his head on his hand as he stared down at his empty bowl-unsure if he wanted to get up and get seconds or not.

"So you must have taken it hard when Ellis went missing?" Zoey pressed, a teasing smirk on her face.

"He was a pain in the ass and he never shut up." Nick snapped, glaring at Zoey. "But things got too quiet when he wasn't there anymore. They're too quiet now." Nick said the second part quietly, remembering the brief time Ellis hadn't been around. Deciding seconds wasn't worth it Nick slid away from the table, tossing his bowl unceremoniously into the sink, and left the room.

"See, I told you he had a heart." Could be heard as Nick left, his eyes narrowing even further.

"Zoey, is this really important right now?" Louis asked and things became quiet between the three once more. Nick hunted down a bed and collapsed on top of it, rolling onto his side and picturing the kid lying next to him.

"Dammit Ellis, where the hell are you?" Nick grumbled before curling up on himself and closing his eyes. It took a little while but eventually Nick was able to get at least a little sleep.

…

The days continued on in a rather similar fashion as they had before, even though a few walls had been broken down between Nick and the other three. Keeping in mind that this was probably truly a temporary arrangement Nick kept to the back- there was no reason for him to really begin to learn their moves and work with them when he could easily work from the back and stay out of their way.

Nick didn't want to make friends with anyone else… not when he only made friends to be parted from them.

The sun was warming the back of Nick's jacket at this point but he didn't have the time to enjoy the warmth that sent through him as zombies ran at them. He took pleasure in every shot he made that dropped one, watching with mild interest as the trio in front of him worked like a well-oiled machine. They covered one another's backs… and sometimes Nick wondered if they forgot he was there. Not that he cared-it had just crossed his mind at some point.

"Assclown." Nick grumbled in annoyance when his gun jammed. He had been having trouble with it recently but hadn't had the time to pick up a new one yet. Trying to get the gun to work properly would take too much time so Nick pulled out a katana he had found recently… it had been rather an odd find, actually… as if it had been placed for him to find. But Nick pushed that to the side-he was glad to have it.

While Nick cut down undead annoyances, the trio moved farther and farther from sight. Nick was about to make an attempt to call out to them when something thick and slimy wrapped around his arms and chest and he found himself being drug backwards.

"Shit!" Nick shouted, struggling. He attempted to reach for the knife he had been keeping in his pocket but his arms were plastered to his sides by the strength of the tongue.

"Guys! Smoker!" Nick attempted to call out but it didn't seem like the trio noticed… considering he was still being dragged away. No way… this was not how Nick was going to die. After all this time, to get wrapped up by a smoker?

Common infected around him swooped in for a free meal and Nick had a hell of a time kicking them away, taking his focus away from breaking free of the tongue. This seemed to go on forever… but then the tongue was dragging him rather slowly. It gave Nick the time to contemplate his life while he squirmed against the tongue-what the hell was the thing made out of anyway?

That he had made it this far wasn't really a shock… Nick had always been a survivor-even before it was really called 'surviving.' He was obviously going to find a way out of this as well… he wasn't going to die thanks to something as ridiculous as a smoker.

Nick continued to believe this even as the tongue dragging him began to pull him into the air and he realized that the time to act was rapidly leaving him. He set about a fresh set of wriggling and squirming and ended up swinging himself back and forth. Getting an idea, Nick continued to push off from the wall he was now sliding against and attempted to slam into a window. The first time he aimed badly and slammed into the brick wall instead-knocking the air from his lungs.

"Come on, Nick. Come on." The conman mumbled to himself as he struggled to swing himself again. This time, he did hit a window but not enough for it to break-only crack. Nick attempted to kick at it but something caused the tongue to twist and his aim skewed, missing the window all together.

"Dammit." Nick growled. Had the other three really not noticed his absence? On the bright side at least the tongue wasn't wrapped around his neck because then he'd have been strangled by now.

Nick shouted out indignantly as his head hit a balcony and he slid around it. In a last ditch effort Nick hooked his feet beneath the fence so that he could no longer be pulled up. There was harsh tugging with the tongue and then Nick was falling flat on his back with a cloud of smoke billowing out from a window one story above him.

"About goddamn time." Nick growled, choking on smoke as he pulled the tongue from himself and stood up. The other three were not beneath the balcony, however. They were nowhere to be seen and Nick was left wondering what the hell was going on. Unless smokers now exploded from over-exertion?

That didn't seem quite right but Nick decided to go with it as he broke the window into the hotel. It was a maze of twists and turns in the dark that left Nick's palms sweating but nothing attacked him. He found corpses freshly killed lying around him which confused him but Nick decided to go with it and question it later.

Nick was able to find the stairs with some work and froze when he heard the roar of a charger. It seemed to be a couple floors below him and Nick prepared to face off against it… but the pounding footsteps never came. Nick considered for a moment finding another way down but the longer he took the farther the trio moved without him.

Deciding to risk it, Nick began to move cautiously down the stairs. He heard nothing except the echoes of his own footsteps as he worked his way down…. And he nearly passed out from a heart attack when a huge form loomed before him. Before Nick realized it was dead. The charger was dead… but he had just heard it… and he hadn't fired his gun. Obviously. He didn't even have a gun to fire.

Just when he thought that things couldn't get any stranger, there was the shrill scream of a startled witch and a thundering of footsteps far beneath him. An idea of what was going on began to glimmer in the back of Nick's mind and he worked his way down the stairs faster. There was someone here- someone helping him. Nick was going to find out who it was.

Nick's cautious walk had turned to a jog but he pushed the pace faster until he was running down the stairs. The Witch's screams could still be heard echoing around the walls which gave Nick hope. She was like a beacon for him right now- on the tail of his would be rescuer.

The sound of scuffling could be faintly heard above the sounds of his own footsteps and then the Witch's wails cut off with a gurgle. Nick froze at this point, holding his breath as he waited to hear something, anything. He crossed his fingers, wishing that a familiar voice might call up to him in that southern accent Nick knew so well. He waited… and waited… and waited… but he heard nothing except his heart pounding in his ears. He flashed his flashlight around the area, trying to spot anything that might be hiding from him but still nothing.

Nick continued down the stairs, then, trying to be quieter. Did they not want to be found? That didn't make much sense to Nick… but he didn't have time to really ponder it further as something slammed into him, knocking him down the stairs. Nick was unconscious before he reached the bottom.

…..

'Shit.' Ellis thought to himself as he saw Nick get snagged by a smoker. He crossed his fingers, waiting for the other three to notice. They had to notice. But of course not, of course they were too caught up in fighting. Well... time to go save Nick himself, he supposed. And try not to be caught while he was at it.

Nick was already pretty close to the building the smoker was hiding in… and Ellis tried to think of a way to get there without being seen.

Ellis kept to the shadows a she moved, finding comfort in the darkness because he knew it was safe-he wouldn't be seen. He peeked around corners to check on Nick's progress while he, himself, tried to race to reach the smoker first.

"Damn." Ellis mumbled as he looked at the wall he was going to have to scale to reach Nick. The smoker was quite a few stories up… but that had never really been a problem for Ellis so he pushed the daunting height aside and leapt at the wall- only to hit it and fall backwards. He hit the ground hard and Ellis looked around in shock. Well that had never happened before.

The inferior around him were giving him looks of slight interest and Ellis looked down at himself to see that his claws were absent. Instead replaced by human fingers once more. Well that would explain why he couldn't grip the wall… he had had nothing to grip with. Now Ellis' question was _why_ his claws were missing.

Ellis didn't really have the time to consider, however. He needed to get to the smoker before it pulled Nick all the way in…. Ellis supposed he could take the stairs but it was a hotel- the likelihood of infected being on the stairs was high and that would slow him down.

For once, Ellis actually wanted his… 'abilities'. He needed them to save Nick without being discovered… so he reached into the back of his mind… he imagined it like there was something he could grab and bring forward…

At first nothing happened and Ellis began to lose heart. If he continued to wait than even being able to climb wouldn't be able to save Nick.

"Come on, Ellis." The hick whispered to himself, focusing once more. He tried imagining what it was like to have claws but honestly he never really paid attention to the difference. He could never really 'feel' it… he only noticed when he did things like fall off of walls.

Slowly… so slowly…. his fingers began to lengthen and sharpen.

"Hell yeah!" Ellis cheered quietly before sinking his claws into the wall and beginning to pull himself up. He checked each window to make sure that wasn't the one that the smoker was in and tried to repress the images that his imagination conjured of what he might find when he reached the right floor.

Finding the right window at last Ellis slid it up- the shattering of class might give him away. The smoker had enough time to turn and look at him before Ellis was plunging his claws into its throat and tearing the head away with a sickly smooth motion. Smoke billowed out around him as the smoker died, causing Ellis to wheeze and his eyes to water.

Remembering that he was on the 6th or 7th floor Ellis' eyes widened and he looked over the side of the building, trying to see through the smoke, wondering if he had just caused the conman to fall to his death… but no, he was lying on a balcony. A little dazed, of course, but nonetheless whole and very much not splattered.

Now all Ellis needed to do was get down again. Nick could take care of himself, of course. Ellis headed back towards that first window, placing his hands on it and preparing to leap over the side… when he noticed that his fingers were back to normal again.

"Shit." Ellis grumbled, rubbing at his temples tiredly. What the hell was going on with him? "Guess we gotta do it the hard way." Ellis replied before he began to run towards the stairs, taking down infected as he moved. Common attacked him as well, now, and though none of the injuries were grievous they were extremely annoying.

Using the axe he had acquired to replace the katana he had given Nick, Ellis cut down everything in his path. He tried to remain quiet while he did… but there was no silencing the roar of a charger. In fact, Ellis barely bit back a 'Shit!' upon practically running right into it.

He didn't have time for this. Nick could be coming down the stairs right at that moment. Ellis took a huge risk and attacked the charger straight up, aiming for the monster's head but of course, instead, getting its shoulder. The charger became quiet as it focused on pummeling Ellis into a wall and the man ducked and dodged, trying to get his axe back.

Taking a risky feint Ellis was able to get his hands on the axe handle but before he could pry it free he was pressed into the wall. Suffocating slowly beneath the weight of the charger, Ellis freed the axe and began to swing it at the small head just a small distance away. It took several swings to make contact but once Ellis had the charger slumped away from him-releasing Ellis from the wall pin and dropping him to the floor.

Ellis landed on his knees, gasping for breath. It hurt to take in too deep a breath so Ellis focused on breathing shallowly as he picked up the axe and weakly began to continue down the stairs.

The sound of sobbing reached Ellis' ears and he almost cried out in despair… he had to get out of here before Nick spotted him. Speaking of which… Ellis picked up his pace, keeping an eye out for the Witch. When he spotted her he took a deep breath, flinched at the pain, and then ran. There was no sneaking past her… but he could at least get a head start.

She screamed in rage as he passed her and his heart leapt into his throat as the sound sent terror flooding his veins. The pain of breathing was forgotten as Ellis pushed his feet to go faster, running down the stairs. The Witch was right on his tail the entire way, shrieking at him for interrupting her sulking.

Ellis would have been shouting sorry at this point if he thought it would help… but Witches weren't something one could reason with. So instead, Ellis pushed himself faster and he found he was putting distance between himself and the Witch… and he noticed his hands had become claws.

Feeling a lot more confident in himself he used the hand railing on the second floor to switch around and face the Witch. She was caught off guard by this and actually froze.

"Perfect." Ellis murmured as he leapt at her and swiftly killed her. She dropped to the ground and then there was silence in the stairwell. Actually, silence was the wrong word to use since soft footsteps could be heard from above.

Ellis melted into the shadows, ready to wait Nick out. He could easily hang out here until Nick left the building and then tail after him. The sound of a common had Ellis looking around and one rushed passed him to dive at Nick, sending both the infected and the conman tumbling down the stairs.

"Shit!" Ellis cried out, racing to the conman's side. Nick was limp, unmoving… and completely sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs which had Ellis panicking. He quickly checked all vital signs to make sure that Nick was still alive- sighing in relief when he found them…. And then, taking Nick's flashlight which had landed nearby, Ellis checked the man over for injuries.

"Yer not gonna be walkin' again, soon." Ellis murmured as he noticed that Nick's ankle was swelling up at an alarming rate. The conman also had a goose sized egg at the back of his head as well as other bruises from the fall.

"Now wha' am I gonna do?" Ellis murmured to himself as he carefully pulled Nick into his arms. He couldn't resist taking a moment to nuzzle Nick's neck before he refocused on the task at hand. He had to get Nick back to the other three… Even if he wasn't exactly part of their group there was safety in numbers. Though, admittedly, Ellis was doing a better job of protecting Nick than the other three were.

"Guess we'll fig're somethin' out, huh?" Ellis asked. He realized that one solution could be to just leave Nick here at the bottom of the stairs and wait for the conman to wake up… but it was quickly decided that there was no way he could just leave Nick here. He'd just have to get the conman to the trio before he woke up… and without them spotting Ellis.

Yeah… this was going to be easy, no problem. Ellis heaved a sigh… what had Nick gotten him into?


	3. Drifting Apart

So guys…. A lot happens in this chapter. The main reason it took so long is just the sheer number of times I had to rewrite it before it sounded right. On top of that… I got sick for a while and with work and school… well it was really difficult to keep up with. I do apologize for this being so late… I don't know how fast I'll bust out chapter 4 because I'm still pretty under the weather… but know that I am consistently working on it. Thank you to the people who continue to support me You guys make the late nights and early mornings of writing completely worth it.

Chapter 3

"Ellis!" Nick called, lurching up and immediately regretting it when he was overcome with a sense of dizziness and vertigo. He pressed his hands against his head in an attempt to get some relief but yanked them away immediately, a sharp pain coursing from where his fingers touched.

"Shit." Nick grumbled, rolling over and pressing his face into the pillow. He found himself immediately confused, trying to figure out where he was. He pushed up a little, his tired gaze sweeping the room. He was in a bed. He usually woke up in beds so why was it so strange this time?

"C'mon Nick, think." Nick told himself, slumping back down into the pillow and trying to focus. What was the last thing he remembered?

Images came back in flashes and waves, behaving similar to a bad recording at first before it smoothed out. He had been following on the trio's tail…. when he'd been grabbed by a smoker. They hadn't noticed and Nick had ended up in the building with the smoker but there was something strange about the situation- something was killing infected for him. And he had been chasing them… before falling down stairs and then nothing.

_Ellis. That had to be Ellis… Who else could it be? But… why is he avoiding us?_ Nick thought to himself, completely perplexed by the situation. Because of course it was Ellis. It had to be. And yet… how could it be when the kid hadn't joined up with them yet?

A commotion from downstairs woke Nick to a more serious situation. Had the trio found him? Had he been taken to this house by Ellis/his would be rescuer and then left? An angry voice rising above the floorboards answered Nick's question.

"Dammit Zoey, the man has been more of a hindrance since he first joined his group. If he doesn't wake up by sometime today he's going to be dead, anyway! We've lost distance and we've lost time- those carriers we're supposed to be rescuing will be dead by the time we reach them!" Francis shouted, causing Nick to press his face further into the pillow. How long had he been out? It was quiet for a time and Nick wondered if the others were responding and Nick just couldn't hear them.

"It makes no goddamn sense, woman! And don't you go defending him again, Louis. Your optimism pisses me off almost as much as Nick does. Of all the things I hate in this world he's at the top of my list."

More quiet and Nick sighed. This was not going well… he realized he really had been dragging the group back. Maybe it wasn't worth it for him to try and rescue Rochelle and Coach- he should have just trusted it to Zoey and the rest of them.

"Dammit." Nick grumbled. He really had changed- he'd become softer. It used to be that the only way for something to be done right was for Nick to do it… and it used to be that Nick only ever cared about himself. That within itself would have pretty much saved him from this whole issue but no… he had just had to grow soft, make friends, and actually care about people.

"Fuck." Nick growled, his eyes narrowing. What had having friends even gotten him, anyway? It had almost gotten him killed multiple times. It had him on a quest with people he didn't like and again, risking his neck. It had him restless and feeling alone-constantly looking for someone who might not even be around anymore. This was ridiculous… Why the hell did Nick even care?

With every intention of going down the stairs and walking out the doors, leaving the others behind- Zoey and her group, Rochelle, Coach, and yes, even _Ellis_ Nick pushed to his feet and immediately fell back on the bed in pain.

"God fucking dammit!" Nick growled, looking at his ankle in an accusatory fashion. This day was not going well and his freakin' ankle was not making things any better.

As Nick seethed, something caught the corner of his eye and Nick noticed there was food set out next to the bed. Pain not forgotten, but instead pushed to the back of the conman's mind, Nick quickly grabbed it and began scarfing it down. The soup was cold now and the bread stale but it was the best thing Nick had ever tasted- he hadn't realized just how hungry he had been. He completely finished the meal before realizing he was no longer alone in the room.

"You have finally decided to rejoin the living. Again." Zoey said lightly, giving him a small smile. "Good to see you awake, Nick."

"How long was I out for?" Nick asked, trying to take the venom out of his tone but only partially succeeding.

"3 days." Zoey answered easily.

"Shit." Nick responded, pressing his hands into his face-suddenly extremely weary.

"At least you're awake now. Any longer and you might have died from dehydration." Louis offered, coming in a moment later.

"I didn't realize you guys cared so much." Nick said and his tone only held a drop of sarcasm.

This left quiet in its wake. Gazes flicked back and forth… people searching for the right words to say… mouths opening and closing as thoughts failed to form into coherent sentences. Finally, resolve built in Louis and Zoey's eyes. Something they could focus on that didn't relate to the state of Nick's being.

"Look Nick, we're going to have to figure out what to do about your ankle so that we can continue moving. Francis has been carrying you so far but I doubt that that's a long term solution…" Zoey spoke up eventually, effectively changing the subject.

"Obviously not." Nick replied, shuddering at the thought.

"Luckily you still have time to rest before tomorrow morning so Louis and I will leave you in peace for now. Stay off your ankle." Zoey walked away without another word with Louis following behind her, nodding to Nick once before exiting out the door.

Completely alone again… or as alone as one could be in a house with other people in it… Nick looked at his bandaged ankle critically. It felt like a sprain though Nick couldn't tell just how bad a sprain it was. He'd probably need a crutch or something so that he could keep the weight off of it.

His gaze fell upon the katana leaning next to the bed and nodded. That would work for now. Nick pushed to his feet once more and, using the katana, hobbled over to the window. He wanted to give something a shot- just to see. Just to make sure.

"Ellis. Ellis, dammit, I know you're out here. Why the hell are you hiding?!" Nick growled through the broken window, glare scoping out the area as he leaned his weight onto his good leg. There was no response and Nick sighed. He should have known better- Ellis was a country boy and his stubbornness in things rivaled that of the donkeys he had probably lived with. Nick wasn't going to give up so easily, however.

"Overalls… I don't know your reasoning behind staying away from the rest of us but its bullshit. We need you as an active member of the group so we can rescue Rochelle and Coach. Come on, kid…" Nick pressed. There was silence… and then a sudden voice right behind him made him jump.

"Thought Zoey told you to stay off your ankle." Francis pointed out, the corners of his mouth quirked up into what, on Francis, could be considered a grin as Nick turned back towards him.

"I didn't know you were in the business of lurking around corners." Nick sniffed disapprovingly, knowing that for Francis to have heard Zoey he must have been standing just outside the door. Nick turned back towards the window, knowing the moment was ruined in any case but wanting to hold out for a few moments longer.

Francis just shrugged. "Who were you talking to?"

"Myself." Nick replied angrily. "Obviously. It's the only way I can have an intelligent conversation around here."

"Hey, you better watch yourself Suit. We found you down an alley and we can just as easily leave you there. Bet that brings back memories."

"Go the fuck away, Francis." Nick ground out, his temper flaring. Yes, he remembered those days all too well and it pissed him off that Francis would dare refresh them in his mind.

"You need to be off your feet first." Francis replied.

"Fucking Assclown." Nick growled. He almost spat out 'what difference does it make to you?' but he bit his tongue. That was about as childish of a response as Nick could have given. Instead he glared at Francis and slowly, very slowly, hobbled his way back toward the bed. Even if Ellis had been about to respond-because obviously it was Ellis, Nick was so sure the kid was out there-he definitely wouldn't now. Nick climbed carefully back into bed, heaving a sigh.

"Good boy." Francis taunted before heading to exit the room. He glanced back only once… and then he was out of Nick's sight.

Nick sighed… he looked at the window hopefully for a moment but the hope quickly died down. Ellis wouldn't be showing himself that night; that much was obvious. So, having nothing better to do at the moment, Nick curled up and fell asleep after a long time of wondering why Ellis hadn't joined them yet.

….

_How'd he fig're out it was me?_ Ellis wondered to himself as he crouched on the roof, looking in on the sleeping conman.

Ellis shook his head tiredly, he should have known better. Nick was pretty sharp… but another thought crossed his mind. Perhaps the reason why Nick thought it was him was because Nick wanted the mystery person to be him badly enough that he would believe it without any real cause to. Strangely that sent happiness flooding through Ellis for a brief moment.

Pressing his hand to the chilled glass shard of the window, Ellis considered tossing all the secrecy aside and being there, next to Nick, when the other man woke up. For a moment Ellis was truly tempted… he wanted to feel the warmth of Nick next to him and to be able to-Ellis flinched as pain flared in his hand. He looked down at the cut on a fairly normal hand, blackish red blood welling up and dripping from the cut sluggishly. _No Ellis, what are you even thinkin' man?_

Ellis shook his head and moved back away from the window once more. This was becoming ridiculous… He began to wonder what the long term end to this would be. As much as Ellis didn't mind living in the moment and doing what he could for Nick- at the end of this he still couldn't be with the conman. So why was he still hanging around?

_I don' have anythin' better ta do._ Ellis thought though really he knew that it was because being around them gave Ellis a purpose… and at least for a little while longer he would be able to have Nick's back.

Making himself comfortable, Ellis looked up at the night sky and waited for morning to come. He still had now… he could cross the bridge of what comes after when he reached it.

…..

Time passed in a blur after that. Hours of surviving turned into days turned into weeks as Nick and the other three survivors made their way across country. At this point it had been two weeks since Nick had met up with Zoey, Louis, and Francis and it had been several days since his encounter with the other person.

Nick was beginning to wonder at this point if perhaps he had been imagining the whole thing. He had hit his head pretty hard after all… perhaps it had created some sort of delusion. It got to the point where Nick let it go… he hadn't seen hide nor hair of anyone but the other three since. He had no reason to believe anyone else was out there, as much as he wanted to. Ellis must have been off somewhere else… he probably still didn't even realize that Nick had been in New Orleans though they had long since left that disappointing town behind.

By chance Nick had been able to overhear that they were headed to Atlanta, Georgia. And by Nick's estimate they were only a few days away from it if things continued to move smoothly. Which they had- more or less- so far.

Nick was still using a crutch but wouldn't need it much longer- it was kept around as a precaution right now in case things went south. A part of Nick felt a little guilty about having slowed the others down but in his defense they had left him behind so it wasn't entirely his fault.

They were walking through forest once again at the moment- having stocked up their backpacks for the hike in the last town they visited. Zoey and Louis were looking over a map while Francis leaned against a tree, keeping an eye out for Hunters who seemed to really enjoy living in the forests. It made a lot of sense, as well, since the trees provided strong cover for them- as the survivors had discovered multiple times in previous occasions.

Nick was sitting on a fairly comfortable rock, ignoring the chill of damp seeping through the seat of his pants as he desperately wished for a cigarette. He had picked up the habit once again when he could find a pack and the lack of nicotine in his system was making him tired and irritable at the moment. He had finished off his last pack just that morning and it was already getting on his nerves. It didn't help that Louis and Zoey didn't approve and would do what they could to keep Nick from smoking.

"Alright guys, we have our heading!" Zoey said, pointing further into the darkness cast by the trees. Nick just shrugged, pushing to his feet and grabbing up his crutch to follow after the other three. There was still a strong separation between Zoey, Louis, Francis… and Nick. But they at least made sure that he kept with the group now, lest the incident from several days ago happen again.

Nick flinched as a chilled drop of water hit his neck and he sighed, shaking his head. It was ridiculous how this could almost seem like an extremely annoying hike through the woods… well, if you ignored the zombie splatter on everyone's clothing that is.

Keeping an eye out for roots that might trip him up, Nick allowed himself a moment of wondering what it would be like if this really were just a hiking trip. The first thing that came to mind was that a hiking trip was the last thing he would be doing right now if the world were in its right mind.

A rustling overhead had Nick pointing his gun towards the branches, eyes watching critically to see what had caused the noise. When nothing jumped out at him he began to wonder if he was now hearing things.

"Boys, the sun will be setting soon. I suggest we set up camp." Zoey informed, to which Louis nodded and Francis gave a grunt of acknowledgement. Nick found a comfortable place to sit while the other three set up camp- laying out sleeping bags and pulling out the canned goods that would serve as dinner.

"You've got first shift tonight, Nick." Louis said to Nick once everyone had eaten, to which Nick nodded tiredly. He had expected as much- he'd been given the first shift several times now. He really didn't mind all that much- it didn't make a difference to him when he'd have to watch over the others.

Nick watched in silent observation as the other three rolled up into their sleeping bags and went to sleep. Even in the apocalypse Louis was quickly able to fall asleep and he was the type to stay motionless through sleep- just like a log in Nick's opinion. It always took Zoey a little bit longer. She would toss and turn for quite a while before finally settling down into sleep, though she would still often change position and what not even while she was sleeping. Francis took the longest in going to sleep but Nick always knew once he had the way his snores would fill the air.

"Everyone is now asleep. Except me." Nick announced to the air, as if it were pertinent information.

Sentry duty, as of late, had not been all that difficult for Nick. There was always a noise coming from somewhere to set Nick on his guard and stave away any chance of falling asleep. There was an entirely different matter, however, when Nick's bladder made itself known. At first Nick considered holding it… he could last until it was Francis' shift- no problem. But when all you have to think about is how badly you needed to _go_ then it grew in his mind until that was all Nick could think about.

"Shit." Nick grumbled in annoyance. "I guess there's no way around it…"

Nick pushed slowly to his feet and looked down at the other three survivors. He knew, from experience, that waking up Louis was nigh on impossible. Waking up Zoey seemed a shame since she only just got to sleep and seemed to be restful for once. And waking Francis? To tell the man that Nick had to go release his bladder? That didn't seem like it would end well.

"I'll be right back, anyway." Nick said under his breath. And he would. Problem was it only took one moment for things to go from fine to total shit storm.

Taking the first step away from the others was what really cemented his decision. He didn't need to go that far, anyway. Nick kept glancing back at the camp- not that he could see anything. There was no campfire out here- it would have attracted the undead and given away their location.

Finally far enough away Nick relieved himself, his ears still on high alert. Of course, right when he was unzipped and releasing was when there was a commotion in the bushes a short ways away. Can zombies just tell when someone was vulnerable?

Nick was at a bit of an impasse with the current situation. In the end he cut off his current stream to hastily stuff himself back into his pants and begin running back towards camp, gun out and ready for action. He wasn't far away, in a few strides he'd be there.

The conman went from a sprinting hobble to where the others were to face planted in the dirt, pain shooting up from his ankle, when a root protruding just far enough above ground caught Nick's foot. He grunted as he hit the ground, gun flying from his grip and landing some distance away in the darkness.

"Dammit." Nick growled out angrily, fingers digging viciously into the dirt as he pushed himself to his feet. He winced at the discomfort caused by weight placed on his ankle but he pushed it aside to fish his flashlight from his pocket.

The small beam lit up a point on the ground once it had flickered on and Nick quickly headed in the direction he thought his gun had moved in, white spot from the light flickering over land and around the surrounding trees.

"Maybe it really was my imagination? You're becoming paranoid, Nick." The man grumbled to himself, beginning to feel the chafe from his pants. The unmistakable hiss of a hunter nearby set Nick's hair on end and he glanced around quickly. Ok, maybe he wasn't becoming delusional.

The flashlight was moving around the forest almost sporadically now, bounding from tree to branches and to the spaces in between as Nick attempted to keep himself from being caught in an ambush. Every now and then he'd bring the shine of the device back to the ground in a vain attempt to hunt out his gun but had no luck so far. Which annoyed him- you'd think the glow would glint off of the gun in some eye catching fashion.

"Fucking dammit it. Where the hell did it go?" Nick grumbled to himself when a zombie came out of the darkness, running at him. The beam of his flashlight moved across the monster's face, showing off the haggard skin that was torn in places and showing rotting flesh beneath. This of course Nick only got a glimpse of but he knew it all too well. He had stupidly left his katana back at camp, not thinking anything of it until now. And his gun was nowhere in sight.

At this point Nick had two options. Grapple with the thing bare handed or run his ass off. Unsurprisingly Nick took the second option. Well, he did to the best of his abilities. It was more like a fast hobble in a direction away from the creature…

Nick was really just waiting to be caught up to at this point- he was not keeping a good enough speed to escape the thing hungering after his flesh. There was no way… and yet, a moment of looking back later showed that he was no longer being pursued. A moment of confusion followed and Nick shone the light everywhere, wondering if perhaps the infected had fallen into a hole or had tripped over the root that had caught Nick earlier.

The light of the flashlight moved passed… then flicked back to a figure hunched over the fallen monstrosity but as soon as Nick blinked to make sure it was there, it was gone. And all that was left was the infected as it writhed on the ground, gasping for breath as dark blood oozed from its throat. It grew still a few moments later.

Nick attempted to shake the feeling that was now coursing through his system- hope and terror. What the hell was out there?

The flashlight moved slowly around the area, tracing tree trunks and lighting their rough surfaces for brief moments before moving onto empty gaps then on to the next tree. Nothing. No one. Nick was alone.

Nick's fingers massaged his temples wearily a moment before he began to head back towards where he hoped his gun would be. If the other three weren't awake by this point they were dead anyway or not in danger.

"There you are, you bastard." Nick grumbled to himself when he saw the gun lying tangled in a bush. The conman was ready to snatch the weapon from the bushes when another attacker came flying at him, slamming into him- shoulder to his chest- and knocking him out of the way. Nick scrambled to attack the human bulldozer but it did nothing further to attack him, which left him confused until he noticed that the bush had just been ploughed down by a Charger.

"How did I not hear that thing?" Nick asked mostly himself but also the thing that had knocked him out of the way… but when he looked around he noticed it was no longer next to him. The creature… figure… person… _thing_ was attacking the charger now.

Nick scrambled to find his flashlight which had been knocked from his grasp.

"Great. First my line of defense, next the aid to my sight… what next?" Nick grouched, snatching the cool metallic object and swiping the dirt from the lens. He flashed it over to where the looming shape of the charger had been, as well as his colliding savior… The charger was already dead, giant hulking arms spread out at odd angles.

"That's two times now." Nick mumbled under his breath. He paid more attention to keeping his senses about him this time as he went back to hunt for his weapon- dearly hoping the charger hadn't fallen upon it. Nick was a few feet from reaching it when the gun fell from the sky and landed a few paces to Nick's left. He quickly looked up to try and spot who had dropped it, beam from his flashlight following his gaze… but he saw nothing.

Reaching to pick his gun up, Nick kept the light flitting around the area. This time, at least, he saw when the infected were coming. More than just one this time… A quick count showed that there were, in fact, three shapes running at him.

"You have got to be fucking Joking." Nick practically screeched as he took aim, pulled the trigger, and heard the click of an empty bullet chamber. "Shit!"

The conman began to search his pockets as quickly as he could, looking for a spare magazine. Could this night get any worse? Well… there was the point in fact that he could have been run over by the charger but had been pushed out of the way for that.

That and in the time it had taken for Nick to look down, check his pockets, find a solitary bullet, and load it into his gun, something had once again taken down the zombies. Nick quickly shown his light on the area, gun raised with its single shot to point where the beam of the flashlight was aimed.

A familiar silhouette was lit against the light, blue trucker hat still sloppily in place and yellow ragged t-shirt still trying to stay together. He was also so… pale… but Nick wasn't sure if that was the light of the flashlight or what. Honestly, at the moment, he didn't really care.

"Ellis?!" Nick shouted in surprise. He really shouldn't have been surprised… in fact he was pretty sure he wasn't… He had known all along. Really. Alright, alright. He had hoped all along at any rate and had had a serious sneaking suspicion his hunch was correct.

The figure in question froze, turning to look at Nick and flinching away when the light of the flashlight hit its eyes. It's teeth, which had been clamped down on the throat of the last infected released with an unpleasant squelching noise and the head of the infected fell to the ground, lolling back and forth from the momentum before coming to rest facing towards Nick.

Ellis stared back at Nick, eyes squinted against the light of course but still meeting Nick's unwaveringly. The conman was unable to read the other's expression completely but if anything he looked like a kid who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Nick opened his mouth to say something and Ellis held up a hand to silence him. One hand wiping across his mouth, Ellis smeared the dark, sludgey blood futilely across his face before giving Nick a small, familiar smile.

"I got yer back, Nick." He said, soft enough that Nick barely caught it… before disappearing into darkness once more.

"Ellis?" Nick asked in confusion, hoping the utterance of the name would pull Ellis back from the darkness.

"Nick?! What the hell are you doing way out here?" A familiar and vaguely annoying voice asked from behind Nick. He turned to gain a face full of light and shut his eyes quickly.

"There were some zombies. I took care of them." Nick grumbled, putting his arm over his eyes to block out the light.

"You should know by now that's not how we do things." Zoey said in a chiding tone and Nick could just imagine her waving a finger at him. Rolling his eyes and grumbling under his breath, Nick followed Zoey back to camp.

"There were just a few. I handled them on my own." Nick said in disparaging tones.

Zoey didn't respond to that. Waves of disapproval rolled off of her and Nick wondered why she was taking this so hard. He scratched at the back of his neck, beginning to feel a little sheepish. Every now and then he would check over his shoulder as if knowing Ellis was there would allow Nick to see him now but all he saw was the silhouettes of trees, only barely lighter than the darkness surrounding them.

"I'll take over from here, Nick." Zoey said, gesturing for Nick to get some rest.

Nick didn't argue, dragging his sleeping bag a little farther from Francis than what Zoey had had it at and sliding into it. He turned so that he faced out into the darkness and for a moment he could have sworn he saw the glint of eyes and a flash of a grin… Smiling to himself, glad to have the kid nearby for the most part, Nick's eyes slid closed and he was soon fast asleep.

…..

Caution was still the name of Ellis' game… but now that Nick knew he was there, the blue eyed man couldn't help but show up in places where Nick could spot him. He always made sure it was a place where _only_ Nick could spot him which kept things limited… but the smile that Nick would get when he saw Ellis was completely worth it to the younger man.

It actually threw Ellis off that Nick would smile at all upon seeing him. The first time Nick had spotted Ellis it had been an accident on Ellis' part… but Nick's eyes had lit up and that was an expression Ellis had not seen on the other man in quite a while. He dearly missed seeing it before… and that had him going to great lengths to be seen by Nick. It wasn't a completely often occurrence- in fact it was very rare… Ellis couldn't risk himself too much, after all. If he was seen by the others he would most certainly be shot.

Oh the complications and woes of being partially human… and yet not completely. Or at least that's what Ellis had come to see himself as. Partially human. He didn't want to think of himself as infected… yet he knew he was no longer as whole as the other survivors.

The morning had dawned with the survivors leaving the forest and following a road that started off just this side of shabby and lead them to the outskirts of some city or another. Ellis had been paying as much attention to their geographical location as he had been paying to what he ate- at this point he rarely felt hungry except when he was around the other survivors…

The road had actually been pretty empty of any wandering flesh chasers but that all changed once they reached the city. It seemed like the horde had been waiting for them all along. It only took moments for the survivors to be surrounded.

The onslaught of chaos made Ellis lose sight of his quarry. Keeping low and attempting to stay out of the lines of sight Ellis ran toward the battling group, feeling that the horde was large enough that if he fought at the edges no one would notice.

Ellis didn't comprehend the full danger of the battle that was ensuing until he heard Nick's shout… and it had sounded like his name. Alarm bells ringing in Ellis' ears he quickly made it to higher ground, nails scrabbling and gripping the sides of a building, pulling him up, until he could see Nick frantically battling a Jockey. He wasn't pointing to it, though- he was gesturing wildly in another direction.

Taking a moment to truly look at Nick, Ellis noticed the conman actually looked worried… yet not for himself. The younger man followed the gesturing and his eyes widened as he saw that Zoey had been snatched by a Smoker and no one was available to help her. Besides that Nick was being attacked by a jockey, Francis was completely surrounded. He probably didn't even know what was going on outside of his own survival battle. Louis… it took Ellis longer to find the other man but once spotted Ellis cringed. He had been covered in Spitter goo and was attempting to battle through that. Everyone was in danger… and it made Ellis twist internally not to rush to Nick's aid. The other man hadn't spotted him yet but it was obvious that he was calling on Ellis to save Zoey.

Leaping into action Ellis sped after the woman, noticing her look of horror upon spotting him. There was nothing he could do to avoid it at this point… well, besides dodge the bullet that she had attempted to aim at him.

Bounding at full speed, everything to the left and right of Ellis blurred. All that mattered, all that was in Ellis' focus, was to break through the tongue slowly dragging Zoey away. He was knocked off course for only a moment when a common infected got into his way, tripping him up and knocking both of them to the ground. The pavement bit into Ellis' skin, tearing it in places… causing him to ooze black. Ellis paid it no mind, though. His only response was to quickly push back to his feet, not even checking to see how the common had held up, and sprint the rest of the way to Zoey.

Knowing that this would need to happen fast, Ellis steadied himself in the last few strides to reaching the tongue. One well-placed strike slit the tongue in half and then Ellis was full out running to the next building to get out of Zoey's line of sight. He heard shots ring out and ducked instinctively, unsure if he was the one being shot at or not. Pain lanced through his shoulder and Ellis made a noise that was very much like a wounded animal, stumbling from the force of the shot but scrambling to continue on. He ducked behind a building a short while later, clutching at his shoulder, his breath coming in heavy pants.

Ellis dearly wanted to collapse right there. To slide down with the bricks of the building at his back and to breathe. But he didn't know if he was safe yet or not… and he needed to find out if Nick was still in danger.

Drawing on some final reserves of strength, Ellis rounded the building, crawling up from the back of it- injured arm held to his chest and making climbing very difficult- to peer over the top. Francis was no longer surrounded but was instead fighting back to back with Nick, who was no longer being molested by a Jockey. Louis was rushing to Zoey's aid as she struggled to disentangle herself from the Smoker tongue.

Everyone was ok. Or at least as ok as could be expected considering the situation. Their stamina was beginning to drag and they had gained several injuries but they were able to keep fighting. That's what mattered in the long run. They were able to keep fighting until Louis spotted a safehouse and quickly led the others to it.

Smiling to himself, glad that everyone was all right, Ellis laboriously climbed down the back of the building, stopping only when he saw a bedroom through a window. Thinking about how nice it would be to just sleep right now, Ellis worked the window up high enough for him to slide inside and then headed straight for the bed. Entirely depleted of energy from the earlier battle, Ellis collapsed onto the dusty mattress and was soon lost to the world.

…

"What do you mean you think a hunter saved you?!" Francis demanded, crossing his arms.

"What is there to mean besides what I said? It was definitely some kind of infected… it looked most like a Hunter… and it is the sole reason I am not zombie chow right now." Zoey shot back .

"You think it saved you?" Louis asked, just as perplexed as Francis. "Zoey, think logically here… zombies to fight other zombies. They all just eat us. Perhaps the tongue got caught on something and that's what broke it."

"That sounds a hell of a lot more reasonable then this guardian angel zombie that Zoey has come up with." Francis scoffed.

"Wow Francis, this conversation has you stringing more words into sentences than usual." Nick said in a congratulatory tone.

"Guardian angel zombie?" Louis muttered, shaking his head but his expression was thoughtful. "We do seem to have someone always looking out for us."

Louis' murmurings were mentioned at the same time that Francis gruffly told Nick to do something that made Zoey shake her head.

"You guys aren't listening and we're getting off topic. I know what I saw!" Zoey argued, arms crossed defensively over her chest.

"You think you know what you saw." Francis argued.

"No. I know what I saw." Zoey replied, her voice becoming chilled.

"Well you know what I saw? A zombie running at you, my shots scaring it away, and a lucky break for you on that smoker tongue."

"Did you hit it?" Nick asked, alarm flooding his system though his expression remained cool.

"Hit what?" Francis asked, keeping his gaze locked on Zoey though he was now speaking to Nick.

"The zombie. The one you say ran at her. Did you hit it?"

"Hell I don't know! I think so." Francis replied, wondering how that was of any importance at all. Nick nodded at the response, hiding the worry that was now seeping into his gut.

"He got it alright. But he didn't kill it." Zoey replied. "Unless the infected can bleed out."

Nick nodded distractedly at that. He wasn't sure if Ellis could bleed out… but if it were possible Nick was not going to let it happen.

All throughout dinner Nick remained quiet, gaze lingering out the window as the day sank into darkness. The plan that had formed in his mind was flawed at best and damn near impossible at worst. He didn't even know where Ellis was to begin searching for him… and if he was seriously wounded he wouldn't be able to come if Nick were to call for him.

Nick waited until the others were fast asleep, stealthily snagging up a medkit and ammo for his gun before slipping out the window. He would have left through the door but he didn't want them in danger just because he had to go rescue the kid… even if it was Zoey's fault the kid was even in danger.

The darkness enveloped him with only the light of some stars to guide his way. He kept his flashlight off, though safely in his pocket if needed, and began to search the nearby houses.

Nick knew full well the danger he was putting himself in in his attempt to find Ellis. If he got snagged by a smoker or attacked by a hunter he was pretty much toast… but that didn't really matter to Nick. Not entirely. Not when Ellis' own life was on the line.

"Kid?" Nick whispered as he explored the rooms of the first house he entered. He made sure to check everywhere, including pantries and closets. He also flicked his flashlight on every now and then to check the floor for blood.

The first house turned out absolutely empty. The next house over had common infected that Nick was able to avoid, but no Ellis. The third house Nick entered and then exited just as quickly, crossing his fingers that Ellis wasn't in a house with a Witch.

Feeling that Ellis would stick close to the safehouse, injured or not, Nick crossed the street to check the houses on the other side.

Footsteps creaking on the old wooden staircase, Nick kept his ears sharp for any sound that could lead to danger. The house was silent, however… the groan of the wood beneath his feet and his own pounding heart were the only sounds that met Nick's ear.

"Kid?" Nick murmured quietly, seeing a form on a bed. Gun out and ready just in case it wasn't, Nick flicked on his flashlight once more and shone it over the figure.

The sigh of relief waiting in his system never came as Nick noticed the state of Ellis… and of the bed he was lying on. It was covered in dark blood, Ellis lying motionless on top of it. Without taking the time to think things through Nick set the gun down, placed the flashlight in an area that dimly lit the room, and quickly began tearing apart the medkit to tend to Ellis' wound.

"On the bright side the bullet is not still in you." Nick announced once he had rolled Ellis' shirt up to look more closely at the wound. Blood leaked sluggishly from both the entrance wound and the exit wound, the black coloration of it no more bothering Nick than if it had been red. Ellis was still Ellis… and he needed some fixing up.

The act of bandaging a wound had become an auto drive event for Nick. First you clean the wound, then stitch it back together if it needs such a thing, then you wrap it in bandaides or cloth and call it good from there.

When Nick had begun setting to work Ellis' eyes had shot open and he stared up at Nick in the darkness, watching as the man took care of his shoulder meticulously. Once Nick had finished he met the other man's gaze, neither of them saying a word. Nick's gaze, now free to really take Ellis in (even if the lighting was nothing near spectacular) noticed that the man looked a lot more human in this lighting… and it caused Nick to wonder if that was really some sort of trick of the eyes.

Strong arms wrapped around Nick, pulling the conman into a tight embrace that left his face nestled in Ellis' neck, cheek brushing up against the chill of Ellis' bloody shirt.

"I've missed you, too, Overalls." Nick murmured as Ellis held him close, breathing a little uneven from suppressed emotions.

"Ya need ta leave buhfore they realize yer missin' again." Ellis said softly, releasing Nick.

"Of all the things you could be saying right now, that is your worry." Nick said irritatedly, glower beginning to form on his features. But he nonetheless listened, standing up and collecting his gun and flashlight.

"I'll see ya safely back to 'em." Ellis replied, an attempt to make amends for his earlier dismissive comment. When he went to get to his feet, however, Nick was at his side- hand firmly braced on the younger man's shoulder.

"Stay put. At least for tonight, Ellis. I can take care of myself."

Ellis scoffed at that and Nick knew the kid was rolling his eyes. His grip on Ellis' shoulder tightened a moment before he turned his back and left the room quickly, needing to leave Ellis before he convinced himself it would be better for him to just stay with Ellis. But the others would come looking for him… And they'd think it was just sentimentality that had Nick believing that Ellis was still Ellis.

The trip back to the safe room was a bit of a hassle but Nick was able to get in, climb through the window, and then head towards the bed. He didn't notice that one of the other three survivors was entirely awake and watching him… And Nick fell into a deep sleep completely none-the-wiser.

…

The next morning was an interesting affair. Nick awoke to an eerily quiet house and heading downstairs had him meeting with three rather untrusting gazes. He narrowed his eyes and folded his arms, ready to come up with some witty accusation but Zoey cut him off.

"Where were you last night?"

Nick opened his mouth to reply… then stopped to think about it. "Went out looking for a pack of cigarettes." He shrugged.

"You'd really risk your life for those damn things? What kind of…" Louis said, rubbing at his temples but cutting off what he would have said next.

"Doesn't surprise me. Nick is a dumbass. I hate dumbasses." Francis put in ever so helpfully.

"I gave up after running into a couple common infected." Nick replied, voice slightly on edge just from the looks he was receiving. He really hated being made out as an idiot but he needed to take this fall for Ellis.

"It looks like you literally ran into them." Louis replied, gesturing towards the dark blood smeared across Nick's suit.

"It was dark, okay?" Nick replied, now completely on the defensive. "Ok, look, after heading out I realized it was a stupid idea ok? I won't do it again. Happy?"

"Dammit Nick, you keep pulling these kinds of stunts. Why the hell did you join us if you weren't interested in helping out with the team effort?"

"I already have a team. And they're in danger. That's why I joined you. Not to become another one of your groupies, Zoey."

Zoey stood, causing the chair she had been sitting in to slide back noisily. "Fine. Stay the hell out of our way, Nick. If you get left behind we are _not_ coming back for you. Do you understand?"

"Sure. Fine. Whatever." Nick scoffed while really he was a little taken aback by the comment. The urge to just leave the others was stronger than ever now. He had Ellis he could go back to. Why did he need to hang around with these fools anyway?

In the end Nick's ultimate decision was to continue following behind them. He still didn't know where the prisoners were being held… and that was kind of key information to saving them. Nick did not question that he could rescue Coach and Rochelle without the other three's help. He had dealt with people who could shoot back, before. He could easily do it again.

A heavy silence hung over the group and in a way Nick felt guilty for having caused it. He didn't give his guilt much power in his mind… it was just a bit of a tickle… that little voice nagging 'way to screw things up again, Nick' but he didn't pay it all that much attention. He neither liked nor needed these three. As soon as he got Rochelle and Coach back he was dumping these losers and his group would be on their merry way to… well Nick didn't know right now. Another safe place perhaps? Where were you to go when the people you had expected to keep you safe would rather try to run tests on you?

Nick's mind wandered once again to how things would be for him if he hadn't hesitated. If he hadn't turned back, stuck on whether he should join Ellis or make it to safety. If Ellis hadn't even been… well whatever he was… all 4 of them would be in that lab right now. Though they had in fact already been in a lab…

It seemed that those days had found a way to distance themselves from Nick's mind… He didn't often think about the time he had spent as a prisoner. It was a burden that had been difficult enough to get through at the time. There was no point in looking back on it for Nick… but then he rarely ever found a reason to look back. The past was the past, unchangeable… all there was was the future- what was being done and what could be done. Before this entire zombie apocalypse he wouldn't even hesitate on saying his future was to find a safe way of living in this hell… but now… his future was to get Rochelle and Coach out of the danger they had been placed in and into the old danger they knew and had faced together.

With this on his mind Nick followed after Zoey, Louis, and Francis as they continued their goal. Nick still wondered what was in it for them… they didn't seem the 'save everyone' type… In fact, as a group they seemed to have a very similar belief system Nick had held for himself a long time ago.

On habit, Nick glanced around for Ellis- wanting to see if the kid was still doing alright. But he didn't come into Nick's view. Probably for the best… but at the same time it made Nick worry that perhaps Ellis was unable to follow them now.

Shots took Nick's mind off the topic and he forced himself to help in the other three's act of survival, shooting down the oncoming infected. Slaughtering the gazeless undead as they charged the survivors was usually second nature but now Nick was starting to question it all. Everything…

Now that he was seeing just what Ellis had become… how much reasoning did these people still have? –Now you're just becoming soft, Nick- the conman's inner voice nagged and he shook his head, clearing his mind of the consideration.

Those zombies weren't people. They were danger. They would kill him without a second thought. So Nick would kill them first. Simple logic- simple survival instinct… and with that Nick fell back into his usual rhythm. Ellis, Rochelle, Coach… the other survivors… all of it was pressed to the back of his mind. All that mattered right now as making it to the next day… he'd cross each bridge as they came. For now, he'd plough through the monstrosities attempting to destroy him… doing his best to keep himself and the other three alive. And to whatever was coming later… Nick was ready for it.


	4. Pull the Trigger

This chapter… difficult to write but not at the same time. Some scenes took a while to get to fit properly… but mostly this chapter sprang out as quickly as chapter 3 came slowly. Here's hoping luck is on our side with chapter 5! As always, reviews are always appreciated and they are an honest sense of inspiration. When I get a review I tend to stop what I'm doing and sit down on work on this fanfic… and if I'm already working on it it sometimes makes it easier to write. Thank yous go to SeraphHT and pumpkaboo for your constant words and comments and thoughts on what I've written so far and to the rest of my readers for keeping up with the story. Here's hoping you enjoy! :D

Chapter 4

Gray steel pointed at Ellis, the dark center a black hole that sucked him in. It was mind numbing to know that at any second that circle of silver could be his end… But he faced it with courage. He wouldn't back down from this. It was his fault… he deserved to die and he was ready for it. A cold gaze stared pointedly at him from behind the gun and Ellis quickly squeezed his eyes shut when he saw the movement of a finger on the trigger….

….

Earlier that day Ellis had been following Nick, Zoey, Francis and Louis… just as he had always done. It had been a couple days since he had been shot and it had slowed him down. He was no longer able help the 4 survivors… but he continued to follow along regardless.

His shoulder would twinge at him whenever he put weight on it… causing Ellis to limp along behind the others. Of course, Ellis reasoned, he could walk on two legs and not even use his shoulder to bear his weight but… as soon as he stopped thinking about it he was gimping along on all fours again.

It could be worse, Ellis supposed. The shot hadn't killed him… and Ellis knew that in a few more days it would no longer be a problem to him anyway. Or at least he suspected… he had healed so quickly in the past, after all… but then… he had still been in a mostly human form. Ellis continually found himself questioning what he was…. and partially human was becoming harder and harder to keep in mind. Calling himself partially human seemed to be optimistic now… A hopeful dream that was beginning to slip through Ellis' fingers.

Ellis paused for a breather and stared down at the elongated forms that used to be normal appendages… they ached. The joints, the muscles…. Everything. It felt like growing pains in a way except less natural. Like his body was no longer his own… and he didn't quite fit into it anymore… but he was trapped in it anyway.

Peering around the corner, Ellis found himself looking into Nick's eyes. The conman was always watching for him now… and Ellis couldn't help but feel safer because of it though he quickly pulled back out of Nick's sight. Nick knew he was there… he would know if something happened to Ellis. Though the kid wasn't entirely sure how the conman had known about his shoulder.

The memory still burned unpleasantly behind Ellis' eyes… He should have known better than to lend a hand in plain sight but Nick had called for help. Zoey might have died if Ellis hadn't helped… but she might have been able to fight her way out of that as well. Although unlikely, it was possible.

But of course Ellis had to be the hero. He just couldn't help it… and now he had a wound to show for it. Darkness bubbled up in Ellis' heart at the thought… they were ungrateful wretches to shoot him when he was only trying to help. But then he supposed he'd have shot at himself too. He was not a pretty sight.

Against better judgment Ellis turned to look into the dark reflection of a window, taking in the sallow skin that now made up his face. His gaze looked lost… black tears streaking down his cheeks and the sludge-like blood smeared across his mouth did not help his appearance. He rubbed at it again, attempting to at least have a clean mouth but the stuff was like tar… like tree sap… it seemed to permanently be stuck to his face.

Turning away in disgust Ellis followed in the survivors wake. The sun was beginning to set overhead and Ellis knew they'd be finding a safehouse soon… rest would be welcomed at this point by all of them, including Ellis.

It seemed that the survivors were beginning to have trouble… they were not finding the place they were seeking… thought they had known where it was but upon arriving here they were discovering it was much harder to find then they first thought. It made them push the pace and had them searching from early dawn to late dusk… using the daylight for all it was worth.

Ellis watched from the shadows as the 4 humans filed into a house with boarded windows. It had several stories… and looked like each survivor would have their own room tonight. There was trouble a night past when there were only two bedrooms… the survivors had been in such a fight that they had almost headed back into the darkness to find a better place to stay. In the end Nick got a room to himself… Zoey and Louis shared a bed… and Francis slept on the floor. Ellis could hear Francis' vows that next time it would be Nick sleeping on the floor… but Ellis doubted that would go through. The three seemed to avoid the conman now more than ever… and it made Ellis wonder what had happened between them.

Watching the shapes move about in the house, Ellis waited until Nick had chosen a room. Ellis wasn't sure if Nick kept doing this on purpose or not… but he continually chose the room on the highest floor that had a window near the roof. Not that Ellis really had much to go by considering there hadn't been many safehouses with that option but when there was Nick seemed to always choose it.

Not wasting another second Ellis climbed to the roof to sit near the window. Even now he refused to go to Nick… but then, he discovered, he didn't have to as Nick opened the window and his head turned this way and that… searching for something. Searching for him.

Nick's eyes alighted when they fell on Ellis and the hick almost ran… his flight response was heavy with his injury and although he was glad to have Nick on his side… he did not want to get too cozy with the conman. He would have to leave Nick again eventually and after that first time… Ellis didn't know how he was going to cope with that again. He was hoping keeping distance from the man might help prepare him… if things didn't fall back into their old rhythm then it would be easier to say goodbye.

Even with his rock solid resolve… he couldn't help but creep closer when Nick motioned him over. He stopped at the edge of the window, hands gripping the rough wood of the sill. Nick seemed unsure what to do next… apparently he hadn't really thought this through either.

"Did you want to come in?" Nick asked softly, stepping back so that he wasn't blocking the window.

Ellis quickly shook his head. No. That was a bad idea. It was the last thing Ellis should be doing. Upon the kid's response Nick spoke again.

"If you're worried about the others… the door's locked and they're going to be fast asleep soon anyway."

"S'no' tha'." Ellis replied just as softly, voice cracking… He never used it anymore –besides growling at the other infected- and that had seemed to put it into disrepair.

"What is it, then?"

"This's a bad idea. I shouldn' even be here." Ellis replied, moving to back away from the windowsill. Nick didn't reach out for him… not physically anyway. Made no move to stop Ellis except for his expression, his gaze… freezing Ellis on the spot.

"Shouldn't be. But here you are, anyway." Now Nick did make a move. He reached out, his hand moving from the light shed by the room into the darkness where Ellis squatted. It seemed fitting in a way that Nick would have light on him… but it didn't quite reach out to Ellis- though logically Ellis knew that was because Nick was blocking the light from him.

"Bad idea…" Ellis mumbled as warm fingers locked around his wrist and tugged gently. Nick wasn't forcing him… more coercing him. That tug was so inviting… even if it meant willingly going into light. Ellis found himself leaning toward the window again… leaning toward Nick and the light. His hands reached out to grip the windowsill, his grip ready to hoist himself into the room… but the light on his skin gave him pause.

"What is it?"

"I'm not… Nick I shouldn' be here." Ellis replied… his fingers were oddly short and stubby again… but his skin was still coated in blood. He was not who Nick thought he was… not what the other man wanted and certainly not what he needed. The grip on his wrist tightened into a pleading grip- not painful besides the way it tugged at Ellis' heart.

"Nick…" Ellis attempted to warn again but the other man just stared him down.

"What are you really worried about?" The conman's voice was soft… and there was a slight chill to it. A challenge to Ellis.

"Well… look at me, Nick. What do ya think my problem is?" Ellis' voice cracked again… but not from unshed tears. It was quickly becoming sore from the use it was undergoing… Didn't mean Ellis would be quiet though.

"Eh… you won't be winning any beauty pageants anytime soon. But then… I don't think you were ever in line to win one."

Usually this would have cracked at least a weak smile… but Ellis' mouth instead pressed into a firm line.

"S'no a joke."

The happy crinkles at the corners of Nick's eyes smoothed out and his expression became stern.

"I know what I'm doing." Nick replied. Ellis looked at him… and where he would usually trust Nick's words he could feel the waver in them. He didn't know what he was doing either… he was bluffing. Even though, Ellis found himself sliding first one foot into the room, then the other… and soon he was completely in the room- Nick's grip on his wrist was the only thing keeping him in a standing position.

"You really are a mess." Nick murmured… almost in wonder. Ellis' brows pulled down into a frown and he found himself backing toward the window.

"Ellis, I didn't mean any harm by it. Look…. We'll get you cleaned up." Nick said, his voice lowering… cooing… as if to calm an animal. Ellis' gaze flickered down to where Nick still gripped his wrist…then back up to the conman's face. He wasn't sure what to make of Nick anymore…

"Come on." Nick cooed again, pulling gently. Ellis was minimally surprised to realize the wrist that Nick gripped was connected to his uninjured shoulder… and he allowed himself to be led toward the door to the room. As Nick unlocked the door Ellis froze up.

"No." Ellis whispered urgently, tugging against Nick's hold.

"Kid… the bathroom is just across the hall. It'll be ok." Nick insisted and Ellis found himself following the other man again even though warning bells rang in his head. This was dangerous… really dangerous… Ellis could feel his mouth water from the scents of warmth and life and it made his heart stutter further in fear.

The hallway was dimly lit and so was the bathroom… until Nick flicked more lights on and Ellis was blinded. He threw his hands over his eyes, whimpering softly… and received a quiet apology from Nick, breath soft as it brushed against his ear. There was a click from behind Ellis… and then hands were tugging at his shirt. He resisted… he fought and struggled to pull away.

"Kid, kid… calm down." Nick muttered and Ellis froze up again, allowing Nick to slip the shirt from him. "I just want to check your shoulder… ok? That's all. I'm just going to clean you up a little."

Ellis had barely enough time to nod in understanding… though not necessarily consent… before he was being pushed and guided towards a toilet. He sat down roughly on the seat. Once upon a time the cold of the porcelain would have made Ellis jump but he didn't feel it now. He registered that there was something hard holding him up… but the temperature didn't come through anymore. Nothing really did except for the warmth that flooded the places Nick touched. The heat was brief… there and then gone… but Ellis wasn't complaining. It had been a long time since he had felt any kind of warmth… well, besides the hot sear of the bullet wound when it struck his shoulder and the other burning, tingling sensations from wounds.

A hand beneath his chin gingerly lifted his head and Ellis' face was muffled by the rough texture of cloth, rubbing insistently at his skin. He tried to pull back but the grip became more firm and Ellis sat through it. It was unpleasant… his skin felt strange were the cloth rubbed and Ellis wasn't entirely sure if it was helping anything.

A few more moments of torture that seemed to drag on… and Nick was gently gripping Ellis' uninjured shoulder and guiding him into a standing position.

"Isn't that a little better?" Nick asked softly, hand petting down Ellis' hair soothingly. The back of his mind wondered where his hat had gone… but the front of his mind took in his reflection. His gaze was still not his own… not entirely…. But the unpleasantly sticky substance from other undead was no longer a smear across his chin. The dark tears that had been black lines on his skin were now gray stains… as if someone had drawn a line with a watery marker.

"A little." Ellis agreed, watching as his lips stretched into a weak smile. It had been a while since his face had moved that way… well… a while before he had seen Nick again. The conman seemed to make his face move in such a way often… yet the muscles were still not entirely used to the twist and stretch.

"How have you been holding up, kid?" Nick asked softly while guiding Ellis back into a sitting position. Ellis registered the tugging of bandage being removed from his shoulder but otherwise seemed clueless to Nick's ministrations.

"Well….I'd say I'm alive… but…" Ellis said in a sorry attempt of a joke.

"You seem pretty lively to me." Nick offered, washcloth rubbing over the bullet wound in Ellis' shoulder and, though removing dried blood… it also caused more to leak through.

Ellis just grunted at that… Of course Nick would say that. But then Ellis was sure the conman was just trying to be nice. Silence held between the two men as Nick finished up. Once done he patted Ellis fondly on the shoulder.

"There we go, Sport. All taken care of." He said, and Ellis stood to look in the mirror once more. His gaze slid from his hallowed out face to his chest and he felt his mouth pull down at the corners from what he saw. He was still… muscular… but it was a different kind. It looked unhealthy.. hard edges where ribs would show through, barely seeming to remain concealed by skin. Muscles that should have looked whole and attractive instead looking sick and unkempt… uneven… Ellis looked away. He didn't want to see anymore… and the burning of his gaze showed him just how ashamed he was.

"Kid?" Nick asked, unsure. He moved so that he was in Ellis' line of sight but the kid just turned to look the other way.

"Hey! You're messing up my hard work." Nick chastised, reaching out to pull Ellis' face back toward him and wipe the tears away with a rag again. Ellis didn't reply… refused to meet Nick's gaze. He shouldn't have been here… he was risking the both of them and for what? Nick wouldn't be around to care for him forever…

"Kid." Nick replied, attempting for a response.

"I shouldn' be here." Ellis whispered softly, moving toward the bathroom door and twisting it only to discover it had been locked.

"Yes. You've said that already." Nick replied, pulling gently at Ellis' shoulder. "Kid… hey… Sport…" No response. "Ellis. Look at me."

Ellis didn't appreciate the tone… or the way Nick gripped insistently at Ellis' arm… but he couldn't help but force his gaze to meet Nick's. He noticed Nick swallow heavily and take a deep breath before continuing. Or… Ellis thought he would continue. Nick did open his mouth as if to say something… but then he shut it once more, as if finding what he had to say was difficult. In the end he pulled Ellis back from the door, unlocked it, and led Ellis back to the other room. He shut and locked the bedroom door behind him before turning to look at Ellis.

Nick looked from Ellis to the window then back again, crossing his arms. His stance clearly said that Ellis was free to leave…

Ellis began to move towards the window without hesitation at first… but when he reached it, and his hands gripped the cool surface… he paused. His gaze peered out into the darkness and then he turned to look back at Nick who was shrouded in the light of the room.

"Well?..." Nick asked, posture still closed from Ellis. The younger man stood there for a long time. He knew it was unwise to stay… but since when had he ever made a decision on the basis of logic?

A chilled wind brushed across Ellis' bare skin and he realized he was without his shirt and hat still. Not that they mattered really… not anymore. Of course his hat was still dear to him but he knew Nick would take good care of it if Ellis left it in his care.

Ellis hesitated only a moment longer… before shutting the window and moving away from it. He didn't move toward Nick exactly… he hadn't been around the conman in a while and he wasn't sure how to act really. He wasn't himself anymore… he couldn't just goof around.

"Come on, Ellis. I'm sure it's been awhile since you slept in a bed for the sheer pleasure of it… let's get some sleep." Nick said softly, slipping off his shoes and going to sit on the bed. Alarm bells sounded in Ellis' head again… he couldn't stay that long. He didn't even sleep anymore! Though… well he had blacked out for a short while from the bullet wound but that was different.

The floor creaked as Ellis shifted his weight from foot to foot uncertainly. Nick sighed and stood, taking Ellis' arm and leading the man back to the bed.

"Trust me." Nick murmured as he pulled the covers back and then ushered Ellis into the bed.

Ellis did trust Nick… though he knew at this time Nick was once again bluffing. The conman obviously didn't know what he was doing either. How does a human respond to an infected besides shooting it? Nick's treatment had Ellis feeling like some odd mix of a pet and an inferior to Nick… but at least that was better than Nick shooting him. For the most part. Nick would probably be better off if he did shoot Ellis.

Nick slid into the bed as well and the warmth was overwhelming to Ellis. He crowded into it immediately, arms wrapping around Nick's chest and legs tangling with the conman's beneath the sheets.

"I trust you." Ellis whispered, his head pillowed on the conman's chest. Another three words tickled along Ellis' tongue but he kept those to himself… this was not the time nor the place. There would never be a time or a proper place for Ellis to say that to Nick. An infected couldn't love… Nick deserved better than that.

"Get some sleep, kid. I'll look over you." Nick promised, his hands stroking through Ellis' hair. Strangely enough Ellis soon found his eyelids were drooping… His mind was becoming peaceful and tired. The heartbeat beneath his ear was familiar and it lulled him into a calm he hadn't felt for a long time… His breathing slowed- he was so very warm. Ellis' last thoughts were 'I wish it didn't have to end.'

…..

Harsh sunlight was not what woke Ellis, for once. It was the soft kisses pressed to his forehead and the hand stroking down his back. He opened his eyes slowly, feeling an invincible sort of power course through his system. He looked up at Nick and the conman paused for a moment to look down at him and assess his mood… before continuing with the actions that had roused Ellis from sleep.

With all the kisses being showered on him… none of them came towards his lips. It made Ellis stop and wonder… Nick really was disgusted with him… and that made him crave a kiss from the conman that much more. A longing to be loved spread its way from Ellis' chest and he sat up, threading his very human fingers through Nick's hair and causing Nick to pause.

The conman's gaze lowered ever so slowly to Ellis' lips… and as much as it was a debate, to Ellis it felt like a flirt… like a seduction… like a dare. Ellis put enough pressure on Nick's head to pull the conman in… the tips of their noses touching in the softest of ways.

"Ellis." The word pressed against Ellis' lips and his gaze grew fiery as he looked at Nick. He returned the man's challenge… though he would not force Nick into anything.

Lips were pressing to his suddenly… with a vigor that caught Ellis off guard. It took all his focus just to keep up with the motions, to return the passion Nick was giving him. It hadn't been that long ago when Ellis had bedded Nick… but it felt like ages. Just the feel of the man's lips working against his again was enough to have heat flooding his system and coiling in his belly… though of course that sent up red flags. Those red flags were burned… Ellis didn't want to have to think about them… didn't really care about them. He just wanted this moment with Nick… he wouldn't push it, wouldn't ask for more… he just wanted a little bit of this man for himself. That's all… just a moment to enjoy…

But each moment made it harder to stop. An all too familiar tongue was pressing insistently against his lips and Ellis responded on instinct, opening his mouth. He soon realized how potentially a bad idea that could have been when Nick's flavor flooded his taste buds. It made Ellis' stomach growl as much as it caused more heat to coil in his gut… two reactions coming from his body… and where one was welcomed… the other caused a shot of ice to race up Ellis' spine.

Nick pulled back to look at Ellis, his forehead wrinkled with worry. Not enough worry in Ellis' opinion… in his opinion Nick should have been downright terrified.

"Too far?" Nick asked as Ellis brought his fingertips to his mouth. Ellis looked at Nick… wanting to shake his head and nod… and deciding to do neither. Instead he just looked at the other man, watching as red creeped up his neck and flushed through his cheeks.

"Sorry Ellis." Nick said softly… Ellis of course nodded, a weak smile breaking across his face. He began to withdraw from Nick, however… untangling his limbs and moving out from the covers. The cold hit him hard… and he felt like he had become an absolute popsicle. It took every ounce of his reserve not to crawl back under the blankets and seek out warmth from Nick once more.

"I have to go." Ellis said. He said it more to himself… but it was good for Nick to hear it as well. The conman gave no response and Ellis found himself looking back just to see his expression. Nick wasn't looking at Ellis anymore… he had a pondering look on his face, hand rubbing at his chin.

"You'll come back? Tomorrow?" Nick asked finally as Ellis pulled up the window. Ellis of course immediately wanted to reply with 'of course'… but bit his tongue. He really should say no… should cut it off right here. For all the innocence between his spending time with Nick he felt like some sort of mistress sneaking in and out… stealing Nick's virtue… well if Nick had any virtue left that is.

"It's not safe." Ellis said in way of answer, sliding one foot out the window. If he thought he was cold before he was freezing now. Where was his shirt?

"It's never safe, Ellis. This is the goddamned apocalypse."

"I can't make you any promises."

"I don't need a promise."

Ellis stopped to think about that… then gave a soft smile.

"We'll see." Was whispered and then Ellis disappeared into the night. He regretted not having his shirt… though it wasn't like the flimsy material would really help with anything. A quick look at the sky showed him it would be warmer soon, regardless… he could cope. He had coped with so much worse… the cold outside would not be what stopped him now.

Curling in on himself, Ellis curled up beside the window and watched. Exhaustion no longer touched his eyes the way it had in Nick's presence. He was perfectly alert…. Ready to take on the world… He felt more powerful than he had in a long time.

The sky turned from a dark inky blue to an orange glow… time passed in a strange blur to Ellis… and a door opened and shut from beneath the house. The survivors were once again on the move. Peering down at them he watched Zoey… was she stomping ahead of the rest? She looked angry… Louis and Francis working to keep at her heels while Nick kept to the back as was the usual.

Of course after the first wave of zombies hit, Zoey seemed to calm down… well she wasn't rushing ahead anymore at any rate. She did seem to be more merciless to the infected then usual… if that were possible.

Following behind them Ellis couldn't really see Nick's expression so he didn't know how to take this new response. It nagged at him that it might very well have something to do with him…

Ellis' attention fell away from the other survivors as he was attacked by a Spitter. More often than not the special infected were drawn to the survivors… but every now and then they would become distracted by Ellis instead.

On instinct Ellis bared his teeth at the Spitter, attempting to warn her off. She of course would have none of that and spit acid at him, coming close to actually hitting him a couple of times.

Ellis limped around, keeping weight off of his shoulder, dodging her attacks and attempting to find a way to take her down. Some common had stopped to watch a moment before continuing on their chase of live flesh. Ellis would have become worried if they had stayed any longer… worried that he was no longer invisible to them… no longer beyond their notice as well.

There was a collision from behind and Ellis was shocked to find himself falling forward, landing in a small puddle of the acid goo. He rolled away from it quickly, turning back to see that a Jockey was double teaming him with the Spitter. So it wasn't only the hunters that were evolving with their methods… now it appeared that other infected were working together as well. This was quickly becoming more dangerous…

Ellis swiped at the Jockey, elongated fingers seeming more like claws as it clipped the annoying creature and warned it to stay back. Apparently the Jockey didn't have any sense either… or sensed that Ellis was weak. Speaking of weak though… Ellis put weight on the shoulder that had been giving him trouble for so long… and found that it was not nearly really painful anymore. It ached to remind him an injury had been there but… it was no longer a hindrance.

"This is what I'm talkin' about." Ellis said, before lunging at the Jockey first. The hunched over creature had not been prepared for a direct attack and the two went rolling away from the Spitter as Ellis nipped at the smaller monstrosity's neck. Remembering how difficult it was to get blood off of his face, though… he pulled back from a killing bite to swipe at the Jockey instead. It was much less effective… but with enough swipes Ellis took the creature out of commission. He snorted as if to say 'you shouldn't have messed with me' before a tingling had him rocketing to one side.

Ellis glanced back for a brief moment to see the place where he had been and the Jockey covered in that burning goo… the green melting away much of the ground and the Jockey's features.

"Spidey sense!" Ellis cheered to himself before he set his gaze on defeating the Spitter. She had brought this upon herself after all…

She was much harder to take down in the end. Her acidic projectile made it difficult to get close… but eventually Ellis was able to move quickly enough that he was able to get behind her and tackle her so that she was face down… defenseless… and one clean swipe removed her head and had that acidic goo leaking from her body in a gush.

"Gross." Ellis muttered, backing away from the limp body. Turning to look back around for the survivors Ellis found that he had fallen rather far behind. They were no longer in sight… and he could barely hear gunshots in the distance. He didn't find that entirely worrying though- it wasn't that difficult to catch up to them. After all, they left a trail of re-dead undead to follow.

Prancing along, feeling better than he had in a long time, he was able to catch up with the survivors (after some minor run ins with a couple more Jockeys) just as the sun was beginning to set. The safehouse this time was not as large as the other and Ellis felt the space where his heart was… or used to be… ache at the thought of not being able to see Nick again. He supposed he had been taking a luxury for granted the other night.

He watched shapes mill around in the light of the house and wondered what they had been able to scrounge up for supper. His own stomach twisted uneasily as he got closer to the house… he wasn't sure if he was hungry or if it was a warning of danger.

Ellis continued to trail around the house… going on guard as he had done so often in the past. And it wasn't until the lights in the house went out that a voice was summoning him. Ellis was quick to go to it, finding Nick peering out an open window as he called to Ellis quietly.

"Hey there, Sport." Nick said when he had spotted Ellis, an easy smile coming to his face.

"Hi." Ellis said in return, his mouth also turning up at the corners into a small grin. He still knew this was a bad idea… but nothing bad had happened last time and Ellis felt like he was invincible to everything… and when you felt like nothing could hurt you, risks were more often taken without realizing the severity of the risk.

"You disappeared there for a while." Nick pointed out… and that he had noticed made Ellis grin more.

"Had some trouble with a Spitter an' a Jockey. They're both done for, now." Ellis said, chest puffing out in pride. He pushed up onto his hind legs so that he and Nick were on the same level and moved closer- close enough that both his and Nick's hands rested on the windowsill and their faces were a breath apart.

"Do you really want to play this game?" Nick asked, finding Ellis to be a tease at the moment. Ellis leaned in quickly and pecked a kiss to Nick's lips.

"Maybe." Ellis replied… he didn't know where this playful atmosphere was coming from… didn't know how things had gone from a wall between the two of them to almost back to normal… especially when just that morning Nick had still been treating him like… not quite himself. Like a being that he pitied and had to care for. That was no longer in Nick's gaze.

"Fair warning- I am master of this game." Nick said softly, fingers coming up to tangle in Ellis' hair and pull him into a more insistent kiss.

Ellis grinned into the kiss, about to respond when the sound of a Hunter sent the hairs on his neck standing on end. Nick heard it too, his eyes flashing around in the darkness. After a moment's hesitation Nick pulled back from the window and gestured for Ellis to come inside. That dimmed Ellis' playfulness a little. Not that he really wanted to fight a hunter… but Nick was challenging him to play with fire. This was really risky.

Something in Ellis burned at the challenge… there was something exhilarating about risking his life… even more so when Nick was asking him to when so often Nick was his safe call. His 'don't go too far' voice.

Another moment of thought and Ellis quickly climbed through the window, senses going on high alert as he was surrounded by smells of life. For a moment he leaned in the direction they were coming from, stomach growling once more… reminding him it had been awhile since he had eaten.

He was drawn away from the smell when Nick closed the window and then took his arm, leading Ellis to stairs and then up them. He motioned to Ellis to be quiet and Ellis was overwhelmed by the scent of living flesh for a brief moment. Then he was heading to a room that smelled mostly of old… but also of Nick… and his hunger was pressed back once more. After all, Nick was not food.

A door clicked shut… and Ellis wondered how he had not noticed this space until he realized it was an attic and not a bedroom. Had he gone up stairs or a ladder without noticing? Must have… since the click was actually a thump of a trap door closing.

"This where ya plan on stayin' for tonight?" Ellis asked in wonder, eyes alighting on all the strange objects glittering in the moonlight.

"It was the safest place to be with you." Nick responded and then Ellis was being overwhelmed by Nick's scent as the man closed the distance between them. Nick wasn't even attempting to be alluring… he was just moving to sit next to Ellis, taking the other man's hand. Ellis was again confused to find stubby appendages at the end of his palms... but then they matched Nick's and fit so well with his that the thought was quickly lost.

There was quiet… each man observing the other by the dim lighting that came from the moon. It shed the attic in an eerie glow and Ellis found himself being drawn into a world that felt safe from any harm. He leaned in closer to Nick, smile spreading across his face- wider than any he had shared with Nick that night.

"Thought we were gonna play a game…?" Ellis suggested before nuzzling at Nick's neck fondly. It was odd… he could feel a small longing to bite deeply and feed from the warm life in front of him… but it was quelled by something else… and Ellis didn't actually find anything close to a temptation in doing such. He kissed the soft skin below Nick's jaw before pulling back to seek out Nick's expression.

"You're that ready to lose?" Nick whispered, kissing the tip of Ellis' nose. In this light Nick could pretend that Ellis was still Ellis… in this light he could pretend that it was just him and his human lover, hidden away from the rest of the world…

"I'm tha' ready ta play." Ellis answered meaning to sneak a quick kiss from Nick… but being pulled into something more. Something longer that had fire and passion and tongue seeking tongue and sliding along in an ever exploring search.

Nick's hands took advantage of the fact Ellis was still running around without a shirt on. Ellis wondered vaguely if Nick had thought to grab his shirt and hat… and there was a tiny tug of fear at the thought of his hat being lost behind… but soon those thoughts were left in the dust as Nick tugged at his pants.

"You sure 'bout this, Nick?" Ellis asked, having gently grabbed Nick's wrist to prevent him from succeeding at his task. The conman looked up at him, brows knitting together in an expression that seemed both vulnerable and defensive.

"Sure about making us feel good? Absolutely." Nick whispered but Ellis didn't release his wrists, forcing the conman to really look at Ellis.

"Nick…. You know I'm not… well not right anymore." Ellis' voice was calm and measured even though he was suddenly awash with pain. As he thought about it… that he was a monster… it overwhelmed his mind. He was not the same as Nick… the conman deserved so much better than him.

All at once his grip on Nick's wrists was changing and he was pulling away from the other man… backing into a corner as his body forced him to hunch over and his elongated fingers left gouges in the floor.

"You're still you." Nick replied easily though his gaze was unsure as he took in Ellis' changed state. "You're still you, Ellis." Nick said again… this time sounding as if he was convincing himself as well.

"I'm not Nick. Look at me, man. I'm…. I'm not human. Not anymore… you deserve better than that… better than a monster." Ellis said, curling in on himself. He crouched in the corner, in one of the only places not touched by moonlight. Nick sighed, corners of his mouth turned down.

"Well… from one monster to another I think it's something we can work through." Nick offered. Ellis didn't move… didn't look up. Nick wondered if the other man had even heard him. He remembered from personal experience how self-pity can cause a lack of hearing. Swallowing heavily and taking a deep breath, very aware of the danger of the situation… more so now than ever, Nick slowly made his way over to Ellis.

"Are you done with us, then?" Nick asked. It made his insides twist unpleasantly to ask Ellis such but first things first, perhaps the kid had just lost interest in Nick… Maybe Nick was Ellis' last string to humanity… and that's all he was to Ellis anymore.

Ellis shook with the effort not to become an emotional wreck. He was a man, dammit… he shouldn't be fighting tears. He bit his lower lip as he tried to force his emotions under control. It was like trying to control waves while swimming in the ocean… when you fight them you get drug under. Finally he looked up at Nick, black starting to well up at the corners of his eyes.

"I don't want to be, Nick. But I should be." Ellis said, his voice barely audible. He hated this… hated how he couldn't just tell Nick straight. No, he didn't want to be done with the conman. Even with the other man's flaws Ellis cared about him… He'd been risking his life to save the other man after all! But… he didn't deserve to be with Nick anymore. Not when he was like this…

"If you don't want to be then don't." Nick responded.

"You know it's no' tha' easy." Ellis said, shaking his head back and forth.

"Why not?" Nick replied, reaching down to place one of his hands over Ellis'… forcing himself not to flinch at the strange shape of Ellis' hands. They were weapons now… and they could easily kill Nick if Ellis felt the urge to do so.

"You'll never be safe if you're with me." Ellis finally got out because it was the truth. His heroics were just that… just good deeds of the moment. Ellis could snap at any time… just like in the past… except this time he wouldn't be coming back. His mind… would be gone. It was something that terrified him but that he knew was possible. It was probable…. It could happen at any moment.

"Is that your strongest line of defense?" Nick asked, tone sounding amused and slightly unimpressed. Ellis didn't reply. He turned his head from Nick, shifting his hand out from under Nick's. Or attempted to, anyway… Nick's hand moved so that their fingers were laced together instead. Difficult to do with the shape of Ellis' fingers… but nonetheless Nick accomplished it.

"I take that it is so here's my reply. No matter where I go or who I'm with I'm going to be in danger. It's a life I've lived before this shit hole of an apocalypse started. Even if there are 'safe places' to live and even if CEDA or whoever is in charge gets their shit under control… we'll still be in danger. We can't trust them… we can't trust to be safe from the infected for any length of time… because when you let your guard down is when you're attacked." Nick tugged gently on Ellis' hand until it was no longer on the floor but was instead lying across Nick's lap, his gaze taking every detail of the hand in.

"What I'm saying, Ellis, is that it's worth it… being in danger…. If I can remain around you. I'm going to be in danger, anyway." Those last words were hard for Nick to get out… mainly because he wasn't a sap. They felt weird to say and fit uncomfortably in his mouth… but the expression Ellis gave him after he said his piece was worth it.

Ellis moved so that his hand pulled Nick's hand to press against the hick's cheek.

"Don' say I didn' warn ya, Nick." Ellis finally said, nuzzling Nick's palm.

Nick shook his head, pulling Ellis in for a kiss which Ellis came willingly to. He followed Nick's silent guidance until he was straddling Nick's lap, careful as he brought his hands up to cup the conman's head. He paused when his hands easily tangled into Nick's hair, fingers stubby and normal again. Thoroughly confused by this Ellis pulled back from the kiss.

"What now?" Nick said, voice heavy with exasperation.

"I don' understand." Ellis replied, showing Nick his once again ordinary hand. Nick reached out and laced his fingers with Ellis' and smiled.

"Just go with it, Ellis." Nick said, not really wanting to hunt out answers to Ellis' strange condition tonight. He just wanted the younger man beneath him, writhing in a pleasure only Nick could give him… connecting on a level that they hadn't in so long.

Ellis leaned back into Nick, fell back into the kiss, fingers tugging at Nick's hair. Nick's hand snaked down to rub against the crotch of Ellis' pants and Ellis bit back a sound, hips rocking into Nick's hand.

Nick was glad to see that although a little different Ellis' body still responded the same. He still made the same sounds and reacted to the same stimulations. Nick leaned against Ellis, pressing the man back without breaking the kiss and soon Ellis was lying underneath him, legs hitched around Nick's hips as Nick removed his hand and ground down into Ellis.

Ellis bit his lip hard to withhold the sound that was wanting to escape him so badly. His mind was hazy with want… with passion… mostly with Nick

Alarm bells went off in Ellis' head and on instinct he went from being underneath Nick to over him, his body shielding the other man's from the sudden brightness of a flashlight shown at them.

"Shit!" Came the gruff voice and pain was lancing through Ellis' shoulder as a shot went off, knocking him from Nick and leaving him to grab at his shoulder in absolute agony. It just had to be the other shoulder… the one that hadn't been shot yet. Well, at least he was balanced now.

"Fuck!" Nick cursed, immediately moving to Ellis' side, hovering over the other man. "Ellis? Ellis, are you ok?!"

"Ellis?" A familiar feminine voice asked before demanding, "Francis!? What the hell have you done?"

"That's not Ellis!" Francis argued. "It was attacking Nick!"

Nick ignored the sounds of other people crowding around them. He was busy trying to pry Ellis' hand away from his shoulder.

"Come on kid, let me see." Nick urged. The moonlight showed the black that spread from Ellis' shoulder in a steady pool, dripping from between Ellis' clenched fingers.

"Louis, find the light." Zoey demanded before she was at Nick's side, trying to help him get Ellis' hand from his shoulder. Together they were able to pull it away, and once they had achieved that Nick quickly began mopping up Ellis' blood with the first piece of loose fabric he had- which just happened to be Ellis' shirt…

Noises of stumbling in the background barely registered to Nick… and he also didn't notice when Zoey was gone from his side and then back again, equipped with a flashlight and a medkit.

Working from just the light of the flashlight Nick quickly began to clean up the wound, nimble fingers seeking out the injured areas and quickly binding it so that it stopped leaking blood. There was so much blood though… and Ellis wasn't doing much besides attempting to grip his shoulder and whimpering from the pain.

"What the hell were you thinking, Francis?" Zoey demanded, turning the flashlight on Francis once she and Nick had accomplished all they could for Ellis' wound.

"It looked like something was attacking him! How was I supposed to know it was Ellis? Isn't he supposed to be dead?!" Francis countered just as Louis gave a victorious murmur and a dim light clicked on, shedding the room with a shallow glow.

Ellis flinched from the light, drawing in on himself and pressing his face into Nick's thigh. He had flipped over so that he was now lying on his belly, arm connected to the injured shoulder tucked beneath him as the other gripped at Nick's leg.

"Ellis?" Zoey asked softly, reaching out toward him.

With a hiss he raised his head enough to bare his teeth at her before pressing closer to Nick. There was so much pain… pain from the light, pain from the fresh wound, pain from the life around him that he couldn't consume.

"Shit!" Zoey said, moving away from him quickly. "What the hell is wrong with him, Nick?"

Now that the fear of Ellis' state of being had dimmed Nick turned to look at her, laying one of his blood stained hands on Ellis' head. What could he say? That Ellis was just going through a phase? That he was really mostly human, honest?... Neither of those went over well in Nick's head.

"Nick. What is he?" Zoey asked, moving farther away from Nick and Ellis… backing up enough that she was next to Francis and Louis. The three of them faced the two men kneeling on the floor, gazes silent and calculating.

"Nick, answer her. Tell us what's going on." Louis pressed.

The pain was still excruciating to Ellis, but he was pulling his mind back together with some focus. He began to sit up slowly, forcing his eyes to open and take in the light that had seemed far too bright at first. He met the gazes of the others, fear in his heart as he realized he was in a desperate situation.

"There was an incident a while back… havin' ta do with a mad scientist an' some 'xperimentation." He said in an attempted light tone though his voice was ragged from the pain. He knew how serious this was and he was afraid… but perhaps if he pretended things were ok maybe they would turn out ok.

Three pairs of gazes focused on him and he looked back. Ellis could very well be looking into his own death at the moment, he realized. It was made more obvious to him when Francis began to reach for his gun.

"What kind of experimentation?" Zoey asked though from her expression she had an assumption as to what the experimentation had been.

"He was lookin' fer a cure… an' he was testin' it on Ro, Coach, an' myself." Ellis answered.

"Nick wasn't a part of this?" Louis questioned.

"He was there an' all… but… I talked ta the scientist an'… well convinced 'im ta leave Nick out of it." Ellis explained as Nick shook his head.

"Why don't we ask the real question on everyone's mind. Are you human?" Francis said bluntly, his hand on his gun now… he didn't completely retrieve it, just wrapped his fingers around the grip.

Ellis shook his head in way of answer. Nick's shoulders slumped… Ellis was now kneeling next to him and Nick was wondering if Francis would do him the courtesy of shooting him as well as soon as he had finished with Ellis.

"Then what are you?" Zoey asked, she had pulled her gun out as well… but it still pointed at the ground. She was shifting her wait back and forth, her expression uncertain.

"I… I don't know." Ellis replied after a moment. He could feel the black leaking from his eyes though he didn't remotely feel like crying. His fear was dimming… hadn't he thought that dying would be for the best? He wouldn't be a hassle to anyone anymore if he was dead…

"How can you not know what you are? Either you're human. Or you're dead." Francis replied.

"I'm not either." Ellis said firmly. "Well… I guess I'm more both. I mean…" Ellis swallowed heavily as the gun raised to point at him and he attempted to scramble back, biting back a whimper as his shoulder was jarred with the movement. Nick was on his feet in an instant, standing between Francis' gun and Ellis.

"Dammit Francis, put that gun away." Nick snarled. "He's not dangerous!" It sounded lame even to his own ears.

"Bullshit he's not dangerous! He was ready to attack Zoey." Francis countered angrily.

"But he didn't attack her." Nick said- just as angrily, meeting Francis glare for glare. "He's had multiple chances, let me tell you, but he's saved our sorry asses instead."

"It was you." Zoey said softly as her gaze took in the bandaging on Ellis' shoulder-the one Francis hadn't just shot… it was dirty and falling apart by now but still there… and everything snapped into place. "You're the one that cut the tongue of the smoker… and that Francis shot. And… I'm guessing all those excuses of going out to get cigarettes… they actually had to do with you. And the hat and shirt Francis found in the bathroom… they were yours."

A nod was the only confirmation Ellis gave. He was dwelling on memories of attacking Nick and the danger he truly posed being around the survivors. If they knew how hungry he was… how easy it would be to attack them, how tempting… they would have shot him by now. Ellis just needed to accept that he was better off dead…

Ellis resituated himself so that he was on his knees, scooting forward enough that he could press his recently healed shoulder and the side of his face into Nick's calf.

Nick looked down at him in surprise. "Ellis?"

"I've been 'nough trouble, Nick." Ellis explained.

"What are you saying, Ellis? That it's ok for them to kill you?" Nick demanded, his temper rising from Ellis' behavior.

Ellis, for his part, didn't respond. He just pressed closer to Nick, his expression hidden by Nick's pants.

"So that's it, then. Are you going to shoot him Francis? Or should I?" Nick asked, his voice shaking with anger. His gaze, steeled and sharp, turned on Francis who averted his gaze- looking just this side of unsure now. Louis looked sad and uncertain… like he didn't know which way to go. Zoey's gaze was pitying and sympathetic… all three stayed a good distance away from Ellis and Nick.

"Fine." Nick said grabbing Francis' gun then turning to face Ellis. The boy looked up at him and it tore at his heart… he watched the gaze glaze over as Ellis stared at the gun- a look of terror melting away to true resignation.

Ellis looked up at Nick with accepting eyes… not ready to die but ready to receive death. The glint of the metal in Nick's hands was truly going to be his end… Nick was going to be his end.

Time seemed to slow as Ellis watched Nick. The other man's expression was cold… there was no mercy to be found in his eyes as he raised the gun to point at Ellis' head. The dark barrel of the gun, at one point such a friend to Ellis and his survival companion, now his death… It seemed fitting. He watched Nick's chest fill as the man took a deep breath, his eyes closing a moment, before his finger pulled the trigger.

Everyone flinched as a click sounded from the gun.

"Dammit Francis, you could at least have the gun loaded!" Nick growled, patting his pockets for the proper bullets. Not finding any he threw the gun down to the ground. "I'll go grab my pistol." He said, turning on his heel… but everyone else stopped him. Zoey had placed a hand on his arm, Louis had barred his path, and Francis had given a grunt that sounded like a 'don't'.

"Make up your fucking minds." Nick snarled, glaring back at Ellis for a moment before shoving past Louis and heading down the ladder. He didn't say another word as he climbed down the ladder. The entire house shook when he slammed the door to a bedroom a short while later.

Ellis watched him leave with a torn expression. He flinched at the sound… and then turned to look at the three survivors now facing him. Francis had retrieved his gun from the ground and was brushing it off, averting his gaze from Ellis. After making sure his gun was alright he turned and left the room mumbling something about being sure the gun had been loaded.

"Not so much as an apology for shooting you." Louis commented lightly.

"I don' need one. He was righ' ta do such… I bet it really did look like somethin' was attackin' Nick with it bein' dark an' all." Ellis said softly, gaze distant- silently adding on 'an' me lookin' the way I do'. He had moved his gaze to Louis' direction but Ellis stared blankly, the glare Nick had shot him imprinted into his visual memory and filling his mind at the moment. He looked pissed…

That wasn't entirely fair in Ellis' opinion. The conman had been ready to shoot him. If anyone had the right to be angry it was Ellis! Nick had been ready to shoot him!

Even knowing that… Ellis couldn't find the emotions needed for anger. More than anything Ellis felt numb… What was Nick's motive? Did he do it because of Ellis' words? His gaze had been lifeless … but he had still pulled the trigger.

"Ellis."

The sound of his name pulled him from his thoughts and he looked up at Zoey.

"We'll… discuss how things are going to work from here on out tomorrow. Just… stay up here for tonight, ok?"

Ellis looked at Zoey for a long moment… he finally nodded and then watched as she and Louis departed, leaving him alone in the attic. He found the only light source inside the room and triggered it to turn off… so that he was left alone in the dark… His thoughts were his only company through that seemingly endless night.


End file.
